Farinata

My other guilt-inducing pantry item was a bag of besan. I had bought it to make patisa (an Indian dessert) but the only recipes that I found had terrible reviews. So the bag sat on a shelf -- unopened -- and came along when we moved. Most recipes I found called for only a tablespoon or two, certainly not worth opening the bag. But Tofu for Two's farinata recipe used 2 1/4 cups...and so the bag was opened.

It was different from anything that I'd made before, and I didn't really trust it. You mix the besan with water and oil, let it sit for 4 hours (I'm still not sure why), then add in seasonings, and bake it at a very high temperature. And somehow, the very thin batter turns into a smooth, almost quiche-like dish. It was absolutely delicious -- besan will never sit neglected in my pantry again.

I followed the recipe pretty closely; I used basil in place of rosemary because it was what I had on hand, and my converted measurements were probably a little different.

2 1/4 cups besan
3 cups water
3 T olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
5 cloves chopped garlic

Whisk together besan, water, and olive oil. Cover and let sit on counter for 4 hours. Add salt, basil, and garlic, and stir well. Pour into oiled pie plate. Bake at 390 F (I have a digital temperature-setter on my oven; if you don't, 400F should be fine) for 30 minutes, then turn heat up to 425F and bake for 20-30 minutes until it is center is no longer "jiggly" and top is well-browned. Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting.

This is my second entry for BB4.