Farinata with blistered tomatoes and chilli chickpeas

SERVES 2 // PREP TIME 10 MINS // COOK 25 MINS (PLUS RESTING)

250 gm canned chickpeas, rinsed, drained, pat dry

100 ml olive oil, plus extra to shallow fry ½ tsp paprika

1 long red chilli, thinly sliced

250 gm vine-ripened cherry tomatoes

1 avocado, peeled, stone removed, cut into wedges

1 cup loosely packed watercress Lemon wedges, to serve

FARINATA BATTER

100 gm chickpea flour

250 ml cold water

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

and rosemary 1 To make farinata batter, blend all ingredients with 1 tsp salt in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a jug, cover and set aside at room temperature to rest (30 minutes).

2 Heat 1cm oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chickpeas and stir continuously until crisp and golden (2-3 minutes). Add paprika and chilli, and stir until fragrant (1 minute). Remove with a slotted spoon into a bowl and season to taste.

3 Preheat grill to high. Add 1½ tbsp oil to a 25cm heavy-based oven-proof frying pan (ideally cast iron) and place on a low shelf in the oven to heat (5 minutes).

4 Meanwhile, place tomatoes on a tray, drizzle with 1 tbsp oil and season; place under grill and cook until starting to blister (5 minutes). Remove and set aside.

5 When frying pan for farinata is very hot, carefully add half of the batter, swirl to cover base and place under grill. Cook until edges are starting to crisp and golden (6 minutes). Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining batter, adding extra oil to the pan.

6 Serve farinata topped with avocado, tomatoes, chickpeas and watercress, with lemon wedges on the side.

Note Farinata is a crisp chickpea-flour crepe popular in some areas of Italy.