Pesto Genovese
Pesto Genovese is a Ligurian uncooked basil sauce pounded with garlic, pine nuts, salt, hard cheeses and olive oil, traditionally made in a mortar.
Modern method
Farinata (Riviera dei Fiori recipe)
Farinata
This farinata is a chickpea-flour batter baked with olive oil in a pan. The Riviera dei Fiori version makes six and uses a 200–250°C oven.
A Riviera dei Fiori formula
This source-specific farinata comes from Ricettolio Riviera dei Fiori, a Ligurian olive-oil recipe book. Its recipe makes six servings from chickpea flour, water, DOP Riviera Ligure olive oil and salt, with pepper and chopped onion or spring onion. The book introduces its collection as Ligurian traditional cooking and names the Riviera dei Fiori, but it does not date farinata's first appearance or establish a precise birthplace. This record therefore describes the recipe's documented regional context without claiming that the method began there.
This is a separate formula from the Genoa tourism recipe. It gives a defined range of 500–700 mL water, 500 mL oil, 15 g salt and a 200–250°C bake. The Genoa formula instead has water and salt amounts that conflict between its list and method, two glasses of oil without volume, and a 250-degree setting without scale. Those details are not blended into this batch.
Sources for this section
Rest the chickpea batter
The measured ingredients produce a loose batter rather than a kneaded dough. Slowly whisking or stirring the water into the chickpea flour helps prevent lumps. The book calls for preparing the batter at least six to eight hours before cooking so the flour can absorb water. It does not give a rest temperature or a maximum rest time. No temperature is added here.
After the rest, the source mixes in salt, oil and pepper. The 500 mL oil amount is substantial relative to the flour, and the source does not divide it between batter and pan. The method uses the listed oil in the batter and greases the pan, without specifying separate amounts for either use. The onion is also an explicit topping choice: the source gives the budding portion of two onions, one spring onion, or one small onion. Pepper is added to taste.
Sources for this section
Bake in a copper pan or baking pan
The recipe prefers the classic copper pan but does not require a particular diameter. It asks the cook to grease and heat the pan well before pouring in the batter. Onion or spring onion goes over the surface. The source gives a high oven setting of 200–250°C and a bake of 30–40 minutes; it says thickness affects the time. Since no batter depth or pan size is specified, the exact yield geometry cannot be reconstructed from the printed recipe.
The chickpea flour is raw before baking. Do not taste the batter. Keep it separate from ready-to-eat food, then wash hands and clean bowls, pans and work surfaces after handling raw flour. Use protection with the heated pan and oven. The source's time and colour are cooking instructions, not a validated safety endpoint. It provides no cooling or storage advice.
Sources for this section
History
The recipe book presents its recipes as part of Ligurian tradition and identifies the volume with the Riviera dei Fiori. It gives no date for farinata's earliest attestation, so no date or origin is claimed.
Ingredients
Yield 6 servings · Scaling: source batch only
Chickpea flourbatter
250 g
Waterbatter
Amount not stated
500–700 mL (5–7 dL), the source's measured range.DOP Riviera Ligure olive oilbatter and pan
500 mL
The source lists 5 dL but does not divide it between batter and pan.Saltbatter
15 g
Onion (optional)chopped, for topping
Amount not stated
The source gives alternatives: the budding part of two onions or one small onion.Spring onion (optional)chopped, for topping
1
Alternative to the onion choices; the source gives one spring onion.Black pepperto taste
Amount not stated
The source lists pepper to taste.Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw chickpea-flour batter
Flour is raw before cooking; do not taste the batter.
Hazard sourceHot oven and pan
The source bakes at 200–250°C and preheats the pan.
Hazard sourceDo not taste raw batter; cook the flour-containing preparation before eating.
Control sourceKeep raw flour and batter separate from ready-to-eat foods; wash hands and clean utensils and surfaces after handling.
Control sourceUse suitable heat protection with the preheated pan and oven.
Control sourceThe source does not state a temperature for the 6–8 hour batter rest; this recipe does not infer one.
The oven range and bake time come from the source and are not validated food-safety limits.
No cooling or storage guidance or qualified safety review is provided.
- Put the chickpea flour in a bowl. Slowly add 500–700 mL water, whisking or stirring with a fork to prevent lumps.
- Prepare the batter at least 6–8 hours before cooking so the flour can absorb water and reach the stated suitable consistency. The source does not specify a rest temperature.
- After resting, mix in 15 g salt, 500 mL DOP Riviera Ligure olive oil and black pepper to taste.
- Grease a baking pan, preferably a copper farinata pan, and heat it well in the oven. Pour in the batter.
- Scatter chopped onion or spring onion over the surface. Bake at high heat, 200–250°C, for 30–40 minutes; cooking time varies with the batter's thickness.
- Cut and serve as a meal; the source batch serves six.
Conditions
Yield6 servings
Temperature200–250°C
Places
Riviera dei Fiori, Liguria
Documented preparation · Region evidenceThe recipe appears in Ricettolio Riviera dei Fiori; this records the publication's regional association, not an exact birthplace.
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Sources
Consorzio per la Tutela dell’Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva DOP Riviera LigureRecipe · Geographic context
Ricettolio Riviera dei Fiori: FarinataFarinata recipe on printed pages 20–21: six servings; 250 g chickpea flour; 5–7 dL water; 5 dL olive oil; 15 g salt; onion and pepper; 6–8 hour rest; copper pan preferred; 200–250°C oven for 30–40 minutes, depending on thickness.
Cited in: A Riviera dei Fiori formula; Rest the chickpea batter; Bake in a copper pan or baking pan
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationFood safety guidance
Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to KnowFlour is raw; cook flour-containing foods and do not taste raw batter; separate raw flour from ready-to-eat foods and clean hands and equipment.
Cited in: Bake in a copper pan or baking pan