If in Liguria you talk about farinata, everyone thinks of farinata genovese , the batter of water and chickpea flour cooked in the oven in large copper pans (named “testi”).
Everyone, though, except the inhabitants of Sestri Ponente, an ancient large district of Genoa to its extreme west: for them “farinata” is just the one made with pumpkin, nothing to do with the homonymous Genovese.
The pumpkin farinata (fainà de succa, in dialect) is, in fact, a savory pumpkin pie: a shell of unleavened dough that contains a filling of pumpkin..
The difference with the Ligurian pumpkin savory pie lies in the filling. The Sestri pie filling is minimal: only grated pumpkin, cooked raw, seasoned with Parmesan cheese, dry oregano and, if desired, a teaspoon of corn flour.
It’s an essential recipe, where the sweet taste of pumpkin necessarily stands out.
You can serve it as an appetizer or as a main course. If you opt for an appetizer, remember that the sweet taste of pumpkin goes very well with mature cheeses!
Finally, I recommend you to choose a less watery and more pulpy pumpkin.
If you are in Genoa and want to taste the original, you can find it in these eateries:
Gastronomia Costa In Sestri Ponente
Gianni e Gianna torte e farinate In Sestri Ponente
Friggitoria Franco e Sabrina In Pegli (a district near Sestri Ponente)
Pumpkin Farinata
Ingredients
- For the dough
- 240 g (2 cups) of flour 00
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- A pinch of salt
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) of water
- For the filling
- 800 gr (1.7 lb) of clean pumpkin
- 100 gr (8 tablespoons) of Parmesan Cheese
- 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon of oil
- 1 tablespoon of corn flour
- A pinch of salt
Instructions
- Peel the pumpkin and remove seeds and filaments. Grate it with a carrot grater, salt slightly and let it rest at least an hour in a colander with a weight on it to make it lose water.
- Meanwhile prepare the dough: by hand or in the kneading machine, knead flour, water, salt and oil until you get a soft and smooth dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place for half an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 200 ºC (390 °F)
- Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 2 mm (1/16 inch) and cover a pan of about 30 cm (18 inch) in diameter (better if it is a pan with low edges, maybe a copper “testo” as tradition rules) greased with oil, so as to let out the edges of a couple of cm (an inch or so).
- Squeeze the grated pumpkin lightly and in a bowl season it with the Parmesan cheese, a tablespoon of EVO oil and, if you want to give more structure, a tablespoon of corn flour. Pour the pumpkin into the pan and make it even.Fold inside the edges of excess dough and sprinkle with oregano.
- Bake and cook for 30 minutes or until the surface is crispy and the edges of the dough golden.
- Serve warm as apetizer or as vegetarian main dish.
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