Farinata with Fonduta and White/Black Truffle
It is peak truffle season and this amazing dish from Jonny Lake combines the seasonal ingredient with a chickpea pancake and a fontina cheese sauce. Amazing!
Ingredients
Fonduta Piemontese
- 250g Fontina cheese (finely grated)
- 125g Whole milk
- 20g Unsalted butter
- 2 Egg yolks (St Ewe rich yolk)
- To taste salt, white pepper
- 500g Chickpea flour
- 1500g Water
To taste
- Salt
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh rosemary
- Fresh black truffle
Method
Fonduta Piemontese
- Combine the grated fontina cheese and milk in a bowl. Set aside for 2 hours.
- In a bain marie, melt the butter, then add the cheese/milk mixture.
- Stir well with a spatula and cook for 4 – 5 minutes until the cheese starts to become solid.
- Lower the heat and add the egg yolks one at a time.
- As you heat up the mixture again, it will start to loosen and cook back together.
- Adjust the texture with more milk added over heat, if necessary.
- Season with salt and white pepper.
- Cover to contact and reserve warm.
Farinata
- Place the chickpea flour in a large bowl and slowly pour in the water, whisking constantly to avoid any lumps. Season with salt and set aside for a minimum of 4 hours at room temperature. Periodically whisk the batter gently and skim off any foam that forms on the surface.
- Preheat oven to the highest setting it will go, usually this is 230C. Place a 20cm cast iron pan on the bottom rack of the oven and leave to heat for 10 minutes.
- Remove the hot pan from the oven then pour in 25g olive oil to generously coat the bottom of the pan.
- Gently stir the batter then slowly add 220g to the hot pan being careful not to disturb the oil too much.The oil should pool on the surface of the batter and the resulting pancake should be around 7-8mm thick.
- Place some picked fresh rosemary on top of the batter then carefully return the pan to the oven and leave to cook for approximately 10 minutes, until the farinata is just set and starting to turn golden on top.
- Transfer the pan to the top shelf of the oven and turn on the grill.Continue cooking the top for another 2-3 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove the pan from the oven and carefully remove the farinata from the pan with an offset spatula and place on a cutting board.
Assembly
- Cut the farinata into quarters then spread approximately 70g of the warm, smooth fonduta over the farinata.
- Using a truffle slicer cover the fonduta with thin slices of black truffle then season with sea salt flakes, white pepper and extra virgin olive oil.
- Eat straight away while still warm to ensure the inside of the farinata is still creamy.
- Enjoy!
Ingredients
Fonduta Piemontese
- 250g Fontina cheese (finely grated)
- 125g Whole milk
- 20g Unsalted butter
- 2 Egg yolks (St Ewe rich yolk)
- To taste salt, white pepper
- 500g Chickpea flour
- 1500g Water
To taste
- Salt
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh rosemary
- Fresh black truffle
Method
Fonduta Piemontese
- Combine the grated fontina cheese and milk in a bowl. Set aside for 2 hours.
- In a bain marie, melt the butter, then add the cheese/milk mixture.
- Stir well with a spatula and cook for 4 – 5 minutes until the cheese starts to become solid.
- Lower the heat and add the egg yolks one at a time.
- As you heat up the mixture again, it will start to loosen and cook back together.
- Adjust the texture with more milk added over heat, if necessary.
- Season with salt and white pepper.
- Cover to contact and reserve warm.
Farinata
- Place the chickpea flour in a large bowl and slowly pour in the water, whisking constantly to avoid any lumps. Season with salt and set aside for a minimum of 4 hours at room temperature. Periodically whisk the batter gently and skim off any foam that forms on the surface.
- Preheat oven to the highest setting it will go, usually this is 230C. Place a 20cm cast iron pan on the bottom rack of the oven and leave to heat for 10 minutes.
- Remove the hot pan from the oven then pour in 25g olive oil to generously coat the bottom of the pan.
- Gently stir the batter then slowly add 220g to the hot pan being careful not to disturb the oil too much.The oil should pool on the surface of the batter and the resulting pancake should be around 7-8mm thick.
- Place some picked fresh rosemary on top of the batter then carefully return the pan to the oven and leave to cook for approximately 10 minutes, until the farinata is just set and starting to turn golden on top.
- Transfer the pan to the top shelf of the oven and turn on the grill.Continue cooking the top for another 2-3 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove the pan from the oven and carefully remove the farinata from the pan with an offset spatula and place on a cutting board.
Assembly
- Cut the farinata into quarters then spread approximately 70g of the warm, smooth fonduta over the farinata.
- Using a truffle slicer cover the fonduta with thin slices of black truffle then season with sea salt flakes, white pepper and extra virgin olive oil.
- Eat straight away while still warm to ensure the inside of the farinata is still creamy.
- Enjoy!
