Fainè – Chickpea flatbread
It was love from the first bite
This protein and fibre rich chickpea flatbread is so ridiculously easy to make that even if you’re not exactly a wizard in the kitchen you will succeed in this one for sure. It’s fast, easy, and nutritious vegan friendly flatbread that happens to also be 100% gluten free. With different toppings you can turned it into a quick & filling lunch or if you’re craving for something sweet do as my mother-in-law does: spread Nutella on top The only limit is your imagination and your taste bud’s preferences.
What I love especially now in the springtime, is to put fresh & raw veggies on top (radishes and chives are in season here in Switzerland at the moment). I usually spread lemon flavoured (all you need is a drop of 100% pure food grade lemon essential oil) cream cheese but today I decided to experiment with a creme fraische sauce and it turned out to be delicious! If you don’t have any lemon essential oil you can use a lemon flavour from the supermarket or freshly grated lemon zest.
This recipe is for a baking tray with a diameter of 31 cm (I used one that is 28 cm and that worked perfectly as well). When you pour the liquid dough on the baking tray the thickness of it should be between 5mm-10mm.
Without further talks, here is the recipe that was given to me about ten years ago by an acquaintance during my vacation in Italy.
INGREDIENTS:
200g chickpea flour
550g water
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
HOW TO PREPARE:
Heat the oven to 260 degrees (or whatever is the maximum temperature of your oven).
Mix the chickpea flour, water, and salt in a bowl to create a smooth liquid without any lumps of flour.
Add one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil into the mixture.
Grease a baking tray (I recommend using a non-stick baking tray. Otherwise place oven paper on top of the baking tray and pour the oil on the top of the oven paper.) with 4-5 tablespoons of oil. Then, pour the chickpea mixture in it.
Place the baking tray in the oven for about 40-45 minutes or until the surface of the chickpea flatbread turns into a golden brown colour. The chickpea flatbread needs to be well cooked from inside as well.
Use the grill set up of your oven for the last 5-10 minutes to create a more crusty and toasted surface but be careful to not burn the flatbread!
Once ready, remove the flatbread from the oven and sprinkle some salt and black pepper on top. Let it cool down for about 5-10 minutes.
Add your toppings or eat it ‘au naturel’; It’s delicious either way!
Creme fraische spread, radishes, and chives topping.
