Simple Socca: A Chickpea Flatbread

In Italy it's called farinata 'made in flour' and in Tuscany it's called cecina 'made of chickpeas'. In France, more specifically in Nice, it's a popular street food called, socca. I call it delicious.

Socca is an incredibly simple recipe that is naturally vegan and gluten free requiring only a few ingredients. Chickpea flour, water, oil, and whatever seasonings you want to throw in the mix.

Personally, I love simple recipes. Since I try to make the majority of food we eat from scratch, I appreciate recipes that I can throw together in limited time without having to use difficult to source, pricey ingredients. Not to mention, Mike has so many trigger foods, gluten being only one of them, it's just easier for us from both a mental and practical stand point to just make it all ourselves.

Sprinkle in a few herbs and customize this recipe to your own flavor profile. Serve with a dip, use as a pizza base, or enjoy on it's own - you can easily make this for yourself with no sweat off your back.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (92 grams) chickpea flour (gram flour)
• 1 cup (235 ml) water
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus more for oiling the pan
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• pepper to taste

Method

1. Whisk together the water, chickpea flour, oil, and salt in a bowl until all the clumps are gone. Them cover and let the flour absorb in the water for at least 30 minutes to an hour. If you want, you can leave the mixture to sit for up to 24 hours, but who wants to wait that long?
2. Place a 9-10 inch skillet, cake tin, or whatever shallow oven safe baking dish you can find in the oven and preheat to 450F/230C.
3. After the oven is heated fully, drizzle 1-2 tablespoons more oil in the skillet and swirl around until the bottom and sides are coated.
4. Quickly whisk your chickpea batter once more to make sure everything is properly combined, and then pour the batter into the skillet. Place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, until the sides begin to crisp and the top turns slightly golden brown. You may need to babysit the socca depending on your oven. Mine has a lot of hot spots so I have to keep turning it even few minutes to prevent too much burning in any one area.
5. For a crisper, more golden top you can turn the oven heat up to broiling and leave in the oven for another couple of minutes.
6. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving. 

I quite like this sliced into chip sized pieces and topped with my basil & avocado dip.