THE CANNY COOK: Here's how I make an Italian street-food classic with just a few common cupboard ingredients... and it doesn't involve pasta
- serves 4, £1.03* per serving
I was doing a spring clean of my kitchen cupboards recently and came across a bag of gram flour, which I bought last year for fritters. Made from milled dried chickpeas, gram flour (also called chickpea flour) has an off-yellow colour, a nutty flavour and a slightly grainier texture than wheat flour.
Like chickpeas, it is naturally gluten free and high in protein, the latter making it great for binding things together. For fritters you just mix it with enough water to be sticky, then throw in your extra ingredients – grated carrots, crumbled feta and plenty of chopped coriander are a good combo. In Indian cuisine it is commonly used to make bhajis and pakoras.
Gram flour is also a popular ingredient in Europe and features in a fabulous savoury pancake called socca (South of France) or farinata (Northern Italy). In Liguria, you find farinata cooked street-side in large copper pans, from which it is served up in wedges and eaten hot. I’ve tried making it at home and, though not exactly like the original, it is delicious and has a humble charm. I like it as a light lunch with a salad (think of it as an alternative to a frittata).
You can adapt the toppings as you wish. I often add chargrilled artichoke hearts or red peppers, too.
150g gram flour, £1.85; 1 small red onion, 33p
about 80g pitted black olives, £1.10; 1 heaped tbsp chopped rosemary, 85p
METHOD
Whisk together the gram flour and 450ml water in a large mixing bowl. Ideally you want to leave it to rest for about 4 hours, though it’s not essential.
When ready to cook, preheat the oven as high as it will go. A 20cm-23cm solid (ie without a loose bottom) square cake tin is good for this recipe. Alternatively, use a baking dish about 1.5-2 litres in volume. Add 3 tbsp of olive oil to the tin/dish and heat in the oven for 15 minutes until smoking hot.
Meanwhile, halve and finely slice the red onion.
Whisk 1 tsp salt and the chopped rosemary into the batter, then carefully pour into the tin with the hot oil. Scatter the sliced red onion and pitted olives over the top. (I recommend adding some sliced artichoke hearts, too.)
Bake for 25 minutes then remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Slice and serve hot with a green salad.
Do you have a great recipe for eating well and cutting food bills? Email editor@you.co.uk. If we print it here, we’ll send you a bottle of champagne
*This cost assumes you already have some basic store-cupboard ingredients. prices taken from Tesco and correct at time of going to press.
Illustrations: Ellie Allen-Eslor
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