Fainá

Fainá is a thick pancake (or flatbread) made of chickpea flour – and not much else.

It’s baked in a pizza pan in a hot oven, emerging crispy on the outside with an eggy-creamy interior.

Apparently, Uruguayans like to top their pizza slices with a wedge of fainá.

It’s nice enough, but nobody around was wowed by it. I’s hard to understand how the pizza/fainá combo ever became a thing.

Fainá

• 4 cups water
• 3 cups chickpea flour
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced (optional)
• salt and pepper

1. Pour the water into a large mixing bowl. Slowly add the chickpea flour, and whisk until combined.
2. Stir in the Parmesan. Set the batter aside to rest at room temperature for a couple of hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 450°F (225°C).
4. Stir the olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper into the chickpea batter.
5. Pour the mixture into a 25cm pizza pan or cast iron skillet.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cut into wedges and serve hot (with or without pizza).

Family score: 7 out of 10

Tags: chickpeas, gluten-free, South American food, vegetarian