I had the day off of classes today, and instead of reading ahead for evidence, I sat around and enjoyed myself. Since I enjoy cooking so much, I did a bit of that too!
After I graduated college I backpacked around Europe for a few weeks. One of my destinations was Nice, France. Upon arriving there from the (way, WAY better Lyon) I was underwhelmed with Nice, to put it politely. I stayed in a “budget hotel” that was very nice, with great owners that gave us french lessons, but it was in a really sketchy neighborhood with bums and beggers on every street corner. I ventured out to sun bathe on the (stone) beach, and drank some local vino in my hotel room, but for the most part I was a little scared of the city, and used the couple days I spent there to rest up for the last leg of my trip.
It was only when I got back to the states that I realized that I missed out on the best culinary experience a vegetarian traveling through France should indulge in: socca. Socca is a chickpea flatbread/pancake that it sold on the streets for a couple of euros. I’m sure I passed by a few places that sell them, but for some reason I wasn’t inquisitive to ask what they were. Either way, I knew I had to try them some day, and with my lesiurely day, I figured there was no time like the present.
The recipe is based off of this one, from David Lebovitz, but I modified it a little bit.
Socca
Socca (makes 3-4)
1 cup chickpea flour (besan)
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for the pan
Mix all ingredients in a medium size bowl with a whisk. Cover, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
When batter is ready, preheat your oven to 450 degrees, and place a cast iron pan inside to heat up. Once the oven reaches 450, remove the pan (use 2 potholders, that sucker is going to be super hot), and pour 1/4 cup or so of batter in, swirling the pan to evenly coat.
Place in the oven until firm and it begins to blister and blacken in spots on the top (this will vary depending on your oven, it took me about 4 minutes). If you find your socca is not blistering appropriately, you can set your oven to broil and place the pan close to the broiler for a few minutes.
Gently remove the socca from the pan, and cut into wedges to serve. Drizzle some more olive oil and kosher salt on top, if you like.
This looks really yummy! I liked your recipe very much. It is really tasty. I added it to my favorites website list and will be checking back soon.
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