Simple and Scrumptious: 2 Socca Recipes

Popular in Provence, socca is a naturally gluten-free flatbread made from chickpea flour. It can be served on its own as a side dish or accompaniment to a meal. The crisp version can be topped with cheese or salad. The soft version can be topped with your favorite ingredients and eaten like a pizza or wrapped around a filling and enjoyed like a burrito.

Ingredients

Chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour,1 cup (4 oz/125 g) for crisp socca or13/4 cups (7 oz/220 g) for soft socca
Olive oil
Fresh rosemary, 11/2 teaspoons minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Crisp Socca (serves 2)

In a bowl, combine the 1 cup (4 oz/125 g) flour, 1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) room temperature water, 2 tablespoons olive oil, the rosemary, 3/4teaspoon salt, and a generous amount of pepper. Whisk until smooth. Use right away or cover and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to 2 hours, or refrigerate overnight.

Arrange the rack in the top part of the oven and preheat to 500°F (260°C). After the oven is fully heated, turn on the broiler, place two 9-inch cake pans in the oven, and heat for 2 minutes. Carefully remove the hot pans from the oven, pour 1 tablespoon oil into each, and swirl to coat the bottoms. Return the pans to the oven until the oil is just smoking, about 2 minutes longer. Carefully remove the pans from the oven and divide the batter between the pans, swirling to cover. Broil until the socca are firm and deeply browned in spots, watching carefully, 7–12 minutes. Serve right away.

Soft Socca (serves 4)

In a bowl, combine 2 cups (16 fl oz/500 ml) water, the 1 3/4cups (7 oz/220 g) flour, 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, the rosemary, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and a generous amount of pepper. Whisk until smooth. Preheat the oven to 325°F (165° C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and brush lightly with oil. Lightly brush a 10-inch (25-cm) nonstick frying pan (with a 7 1/2-inch/19-cm base) with oil and warm over medium-high heat until very hot. Add about one-fourth of the batter and swirl to coat the pan. Cook until air bubbles appear on the top and the bottom is brown, about 2 minutes. Using a silicone spatula, turn the socca over and cook until spotted brown on the bottom, about 1 minute longer. Turn over onto the parchment. Repeat to cook the remaining batter, forming 4 total. Bake for 5 minutes to cook through and serve, or arrange toppings on socca and bake according to the recipe directions.

Recipe from “Weeknight Gluten Free” by Kristine Kidd (April 2013, Weldon Owen)

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