Italian flavors abound in this vegetarian one-dish meal of Asparagus, Tomato, and Onion Farinata. Farinata is a thin cake made with chickpea flour. The chickpea flour makes this crispy crust high in fiber and gluten-free.
This is my first try using chickpea flour. It made a good base for the yummy roasted veggie topping. I substituted green beans for the asparagus (out of season) and roasted them with the tomatoes. I too cut way back on the oil similar to the first reviewer. While not complicated, it did take time....I will start with the chickpea batter first next time since it had to sit for 30 minutes.
I really wanted to like this recipe-it sounded different and tasty- but it was just weird, as well as being a lot of work. Parts of it were good. The tomatoes were delicious, as we're the onions and asparagus. The chickpea flour part on the bottom was the strange part. It didn't taste like much of anything, had a rubbery texture, and stuck to the bottom of my cast iron pan despite the oil. I won't make this again.
It takes a little time to prep, but well worth the effort. This is a very versatile dish...almost any roasted/fresh vegetable combo would be great. I added some yellow squash for color, but I'm thinking eggplant, tomato, onion and fresh basil would be amazing next time. I also cut way back on the oil - used less than a tablespoon total (a teaspoon for roasting the veggies, a teaspoon in the crust, and a teaspoon to swirl around in the cast iron skillet).Tastes even better the next day. The garbanzo bean flour crust is awesome - good protein, great taste, low carb. It's unassuming yet kinda fancy at the same time.
