Farinata with fennel, chicory & walnuts

Originally from Genoa in Italy, this street food is winningly adaptable. Plan ahead, though, to give the batter plenty of time to rest.

Serves 2-3

150g chickpea flour

1 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for cooking

1 tbsp chopped rosemary

½ red onion, thinly sliced

1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced

1 small garlic clove, finely chopped

1 small red chicory

6-8 walnuts

200g blue cheese, crumbled (optional)

1 In a large bowl, mix the chickpea flour, salt, pepper and 2 tbsp of olive oil and slowly whisk in 300ml cold water until you have a smooth batter. Set the batter aside to rest uncovered for a minimum of 30 mins, but ideally a couple of hours. It can also be made the day before and rested overnight.

2 When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 240C/fan 220C/gas 9.

Heat a heavy-based, oven-safe frying pan on the hob with ½ tbsp olive oil.

3 Once the pan is hot, add the chopped rosemary to the rested batter and ladle it into the pan to cook for a couple of minutes until the edges are set. Scatter the red onion evenly over the top and transfer the whole pan to the oven to bake for 15 mins.

4 While the pancake is cooking, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the fennel and garlic and gently fry until tender.

5 To serve, top the farinata with the cooked fennel and chicory leaves, then scatter over the walnuts and the cheese. To serve, cut into triangles as you would a pizza.

Cook’s note: Once baked, a farinata keeps for two days if in a sealed container. It can also be frozen – to thaw, leave it in the oven at 200C/

Fan 180C/gas 6 for a few minutes.

This’ll work with any of your favourite pizza toppings. Favourites include tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, or rocket, olives and goat’s cheese for a different take. You can also serve this plain, cut into triangles and sprinkled with extra sea salt for a delicious nibble to serve warm with cold drinks. »