cook.

Calentita

Name: Calentita
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Gibraltarian
Ingredients: 300 g chickpea flour (gram flour); 900 ml water; 100 ml olive oil; 2 tsp salt; 1 tsp black pepper

Gibraltar's chickpea flour bake: a loose batter rested for hours, then blasted until the top blisters...

Ingredients

300 g chickpea flour (gram flour)

900 ml water

100 ml olive oil

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

Method

Whisk the chickpea flour with the water a little at a time, so it does not lump - chickpea flour clumps instantly if you pour the water in all at once.

Stir in the salt and half the olive oil and leave it to rest for at least 2 hours, or overnight in the fridge. This is not optional: unrested batter tastes raw and chalky.

Skim off any foam that has risen to the top, and whisk the batter again - the flour settles as it stands.

Heat the oven to 230°C and put a shallow metal tray in to get properly hot.

Pour the rest of the oil into the hot tray, swirl it, then pour in the batter to a depth of about 1.5 cm. It will look far too thin. It is not.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the top is golden and blistered in dark patches and the middle is set but still soft when pressed.

Grind black pepper over it generously the moment it comes out.

Cut it into squares and eat hot, in the hand, from a piece of paper. It is street food and it is best within ten minutes.