GATHER JOURNAL

Photograph by Camila Falquez food styling by Maggie Ruggiero 
Prop Styling by Amy Wilson


    
Lina Wertmüller

Carnal Farinata

Amuse-Bouche from Issue 11 – Summer 2017 – Heroines

In 1976, New York magazine crowned her “The Most Important Film Director Since Ingmar Bergman” and New Yorker critic Pauline Kael called her a misogynist. But Italian director Lina Wertmüller embraces her firebrand role; films like Seduction of Mimi and Seven Beauties (the first Best Director Oscar nod for a woman) are monuments of social satire, crisscrossing politics and sex in splashy, over-the-top fashion. Our farinata, an icon of la cucina povera, honors her deft balancing of high and low.

makes 1 10-inch pancake, serves 8 as an amuse and 4 as a starter



  • ⅔ cup chickpea flour
  • ¾ cup water
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • thinly sliced cured meat such as head cheese, mortadella, or sopressata

  • 1

    Stir together flour, water, salt, and 1 Tbsp oil. Let stand 1 hour at room temperature.
  • 2

    Preheat oven to 450°F with one rack in the middle and the other beneath the broiler. Place a seasoned, 10-inch cast-iron skillet on the middle rack while oven preheats.
  • 3

    Carefully remove hot skillet and swirl in remaining Tbsp oil. Pour in the batter swirling to evenly coat the bottom of the pan and bake 10 minutes or until edges are starting to crisp and it feels set and springy to the touch. Remove from oven and turn on the broiler. Briefly broil farinata just until it starts to darken.
  • 4

    Slide the farinata out of the skillet and top while still warm with sliced meat and a few grinds of black pepper. Serve warm.