A farinata is a thick porridge, usually made with vegetables, broth, and finely ground corn meal. This recipe is Tuscan, from the mountains, and is classic winter fare; it was made as a one-course supper, with the leftovers being sliced, grilled, and eaten for breakfast, perhaps with a glass of wine.
If grilled sliced farinata with wine strikes you as too much of a good thing for breakfast, you could slice it and sauté the slices in tomato sauce for lunch. And now the recipe, which will serve 6:
If grilled sliced farinata with wine strikes you as too much of a good thing for breakfast, you could slice it and sauté the slices in tomato sauce for lunch. And now the recipe, which will serve 6:
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours,
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) black leaf kale
- A large carrot
- 2 ribs celery, ideally white
- 3 medium-sized red onions
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 pound (200 g) dried white (cannelloni) beans
- A scant half cup (50 g) fairly finely ground cornmeal
- 1/3 cup tomato paste
- A small bunch thyme, ideally of a woodsy variety
- 2/5 cup (100 ml) extravirgin olive oil
- A few leaves sage
- An 8-inch (20 cm) sprig of rosemary (3/4 tablespoon freshly chopped leaves, or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary)
Preparation:
Soak the beans in abundant water overnight, and the next day boil them in abundant lightly salted water until soft with 2 cloves of garlic, the sage, and the rosemary -- about 2 hours, probably, though the time will depend upon your beans.In the meantime, wash the kale, strip out the thicker ribs, and cut the leaves into strips.
Next, chop the carrot, celery, onion, and remaining garlic, heat the oil in a pot, and sauté the mixture, stirring occasionally. Add the thyme, salt to taste, and continue cooking until the vegetables are well wilted.
Add the kale, cook for 5 minutes more, and then add the tomato paste, which you will want to dilute with a half cup of bean broth. Cover and simmer for about 90 minutes.
By now the beans will be done; puree most of them, and stir all of them into the kale, together with some of the bean broth -- enough to make a liquid porridge.
Sprinkle the cornmeal into the pot, stirring constantly, and continue to cook, stirring, for 20 minutes.
Serve the farinata with extravirgin olive oil, freshly ground black pepper, and a zesty red along the lines of a Chianti Classico D'Annata, a Sangiovese di Romgna, or an unoaked Barbera.
There are many variations on this dish; a much simpler one has you simmer the kale with quite a few cloves of garlic in the water you use to cook polenta (figure 2 quarts, or 2 liters water, and 500 g, or a pound cornmeal). When the kale is cooked -- it will take about an hour -- add the cornmeal and make the polenta as you normally would. Serve it with abundant freshly grated Parmigiano, freshly ground black pepper, olive oil, and a zesty red wine.
A much more modern version purists frown at instead has you slice the farinata made above (the first version), and layer the slices in an oiled baking dish, seasoning the layers with grated cheese and (lightly) with minced sage and rosemary. Heat through in the oven, and serve at once, with the wine.
