I discovered the most amazing dish the other day; it’s called socca. A traditional delight hailing from the south of France (Nice, to be exact), socca is a chickpea flour pancake, or flatbread, often served informally as street food.
Chickpea flour, sometimes called gram flour, garbanzo flour, or besan, can be found in ethnic grocery stores or health food shops. It is used often in Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi cuisines, and of course French and Italian specialties, respectively. In fact, Italians make a very similar version of socca, called "farinata," or "made of flour."
So what’s the big deal? Socca is simply delicious. It boggles my mind how such a few ingredients can come together to make an impressive and insanely tasty treat.
Gluten-free, vegan, and full of fiber, socca is an excellent alternative to white flour tortillas, pizza dough, crepes, or flatbreads. Socca is also incredibly versatile! I made a delicious sandwich by folding my socca in half and filling the inside with my favorite ingredients. I also made a rustic pizza by topping the cooked pancake with avocado, olives, spring lettuce, a drizzle of olive oil, and crushed chilies. Heaven.
If you don’t have chickpea flour in your cupboard, you can easily make it using dried chickpeas and your blender. See my article here.
Chickpeas: awesome support for your digestion!
Between 65 to 75 percent of the fiber found in garbanzo beans is insoluble, which means it remains undigested all the way down to the final segment of your large intestine. Recent studies show that bacteria in the colon can metabolize garbanzo bean fiber and produce short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), including acetic, propionic, and butyric acids. These SCFAs provide fuel to the cells that line your intestinal wall, lowering your risk of colon problems, including cancer.
If you have the time and the foresight, I highly suggest mixing your socca batter well in advance to aid digestion. Much like soaking beans and legumes before cooking, soaking the flour (especially if it is raw) will undoubtedly help your body break down the complex starches in ground chickpeas, and will aid in mineral absorption. I mixed mine the night before I was planning to cook them. The recipes I have seen suggest at least 30 minutes, but give the batter as much time as you can; your body will thank you!
If you like to do things on the fly, make sure to purchase chickpea flour that has been milled from cooked chickpeas.
After cruising the Internet and flipping through some cookbooks, I discovered that socca is sometimes made with the addition of rosemary and onions. That got me thinking: there must be hundreds of ways to prepare this little pancake! You could make countless savory versions with herbs and spices, infused oils, vegetables, or garlic. How about a sweet version for breakfast or dessert? Cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and cloves would be incredible. Add sliced fruit and a drizzle of raw honey and you’ve got a delicious, gluten-free crepe to gobble.
Let me know how your socca experiments work out. I am so excited to share this chickpea pancake, and I look forward to the many variations to come out of my own oven.
Be well. In light,
Sarah B.
Socca
Makes about three seven-inch soccas.
1 cup chickpea flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 ¼ cup lukewarm water
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Ghee or coconut oil, for pan
1. In a large bowl, sift chickpea flour, salt, and pepper. Whisk in warm water and olive oil. Let sit, covered, for as many hours as possible (making this before you leave the house in the morning is perfect for making socca for dinner), but at least 30 minutes.
2. Place heavy (preferably cast-iron) skillet in oven and preheat to 450 F.
3. Remove skillet from oven. Add a knob of ghee or coconut oil to the hot pan, and pour batter in a steady stream until it reaches the edges of the pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the pancake is firm and the edges are set.
4. At this point, you can flip the socca, or set it a few inches below your broiler for a couple minutes, just long enough for it to brown. Cut into wedges and serve hot, with toppings of your choice.
Sarah Britton is a holistic nutritionist, vegetarian chef, and the creator of the award-winning blog My New Roots. Sarah is currently a chef at three organic restaurants in Copenhagen, Denmark, where she has earned praise for her creative and adventurous recipes. A certified nutritional practitioner, she is also the founder of New Roots Holistic Nutrition, where she educates others to be an active participant in their own health and healing.
From: Tasty Yummies | 4/4/11 at 12:29 pm
This looks amazing and I love that it is naturally gluten-free. Cannot wait to try this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing.
From: Anna | 4/4/11 at 1:24 pm
This looks like a great recipe, I'll be making it this week.
From: veganlisa | 4/4/11 at 1:35 pm
Another amazing recipe from Sarah. I think I'm going to make a batch for Easter brunch - with a topping buffet.
From: Sarah | 4/4/11 at 11:08 pm
This looks amazing! I love her food blog! I also love that she gives you nutrition advice because then it makes you feel healthier when you eat her food.
From: excentric | 4/5/11 at 12:07 pm
Where can you buy, or how can you make, chickpea flour. I've looked everywhere.
From: Mie | 4/5/11 at 6:08 pm
Awesome recipe. Made with rosemary and a touch of garlic, yum! Surprised at the amount of olive oil tho... Used a paper towel to soak up extra oil...and I used just some spay on the pan. Next time I will reduce by 1 tablespoon and see how that works. Thanks!
From: Sarah B. | 4/6/11 at 5:42 am
Hi Everyone!
Thanks for all the great comments. I know you are going to love this recipe!
To excentric: I mention in the post that you can buy chickpea flour at ethnic or health food stores. Sometimes it is called "gram" flour.
Or you can make your own by following this link to my site: http://mynewroots.blogspot.com/2009/04/its-miller-time.html
All the best. In health,
Sarah B
From: excentric | 4/8/11 at 7:00 pm
Thanks for the 'how to' link. I've looked in stores all over my area and not found gram or chickpea flour. It looks pretty easy to do yourself, so I will. Thanks again.
From: Carrie | 4/11/11 at 12:20 am
The closest flour my local health food store has is Garbanzo Fava Flour by Bob's Red Mill ... I tried it and it works perfectly. This recipe is easy, and the finished product is beautiful and delicious — plus, baking them makes my kitchen smell fantastic. Bob's Red Mill is carried by lots of stores, so a conversation with your grocer may be all it takes to get them to stock this flour, if you prefer not to make it yourself.
From: Chickpea Pancakes & Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad « rosemarried | 4/18/11 at 11:48 am
[...] The recipe for the chickpea pancakes can be found at Whole Living Daily. [...]
From: Jess @ littlegirlbigappetite | 4/20/11 at 12:32 pm
Cannot wait to try this!
From: Ashley | 4/23/11 at 11:58 pm
When you let the flour sit, should it sit at room temperature covered or is it better to refrigerate if you're letting it sit all day?
I can't wait to try this! We've been looking for great alternates to wheat-based recipes!
From: It’s Socca Time | One Bite World | 4/27/11 at 6:01 am
[...] I made socca a few times, I started researching it more online. I especially liked this and this. As you can see, there are lots of variations and ways to make it! I’d love to hear what you [...]
From: Sarah B | 4/27/11 at 4:03 pm
Hey Ashely - You can stick the socca batter in the fridge for sure, but it can also sit out since there isn't really anything in it that will spoil for after a few hours. Perhaps if it's very hot where you are, you may want to keep it in the fridge. Up to you!
Sarah B
From: Lauren | 5/4/11 at 7:10 am
I made this last night, after letting the batter soak all day while I was at work.
Super delicious! I don't usually like chickpea flour in Gluten free baked goods, but I had some in the cupboard, and now I'm hooked. I ate this with a thin layer of hummus, vine tomato and basil. Unf.
Super easy too! I used a regular frying pan, it took a little practice but I got a feel for how long the socca needs to cook.
From: Emerging Eden » La femme mange Socca! | 5/5/11 at 7:05 am
[...] Meatless Monday with Martha Stewart (Socca) 05 May This entry was written by chelsa, posted on May 5, 2011 at 10:48 am, filed under Food, Recipes and tagged gluten-free, grain-free, recipe, vegan. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL. View EXIF Data Browse Older: The Better World Shopper I can’t say it enough – I love companies that make positive impacts in the world. Really though, who wouldn’t? A few months ago, I was snobbishly spouting … [...]
From: sillygirl | 6/13/11 at 10:52 am
There is an alternate recipe on David Lebovitz's website for socca that has a pinch of cumin in it - the closest I have come to what it tasted like in Nice. I like making it, store wedges of it in the freezer and then briefly toasting them for a quick bit of bread with a salad. It satisfies my love for bread but on a slow-carb eating plan. Any socca is good socca!
From: Donni | 6/13/11 at 10:04 pm
Oink!
Made it with rosemary. Topped it with arugula, ratatouile and Parmesan. It was scrumptious.
This is no "little" pancake. It's three, according to Liebovitz. I tried to eat the whole thing, lol! Won't do that again!
Your photos are lovely - if you had just photographed the pancake or bread, I would have missed it. You inspired me.
Thanks so much for a great recipe and some wonderful ideas. This is a keeper.
From: Juliette | 7/2/11 at 5:03 am
I am sure Italian people wouldn't like the definition "socca" and most of all not that it comes from France. I live in Italy, very near to France actually, and here this dish is called "Farinata" and it's tipical of this region. Anyway, it is delicious, very very filling and delicious =) Thanks for the recipe!
From: Tuesday eats: breakfast…sans grains and sugar! | Sarah Wilson | 8/1/11 at 6:47 pm
[...] not technically flour – you’ll find it at some supermarkets and it’s cheap. Whole Living posted the recipe below and provided this little [...]
From: La Kitchenette » Mid-Summer Recipe Round-up | 8/5/11 at 10:07 pm
[...] Recipe: Homemade Socca by Sarah Britton via Whole Living A note: Coconut oil works the best to avoid sticking to the [...]
From: Robyn | 9/24/11 at 2:57 pm
First time I've tried your recipe(letting rest), very good. I had one leftover for next day, so I heated up cut in four layered with 1/2 banana/1/4 cucumber a little coconut water and vanilla chai vitamin powder. Layered with kiwi, cantelope and topped with baked yogurt and crumbled with a little homemade apple ball and a good sprinkle of saigon cinnamon. Can't wait to make more sweet and Savory!
From: Katie | 10/12/11 at 10:28 pm
Wait!!! Just made my first Socca and I can say I totally get this food! I'm not "free" anything, pretty much a "love it all" kinda girl and I LOVE Socca! A big fat YUM.
From: Socca | Life with Five Boys | 1/7/12 at 12:46 am
[...] Here’s the recipe: recipe for socca bread that we liked [...]
From: simply love food | 1/26/12 at 11:48 am
Hi - I want to make this ahead and let it sit like you mentioned...Do I leave out covered say on the counter or do I keep it in the refrigerator? Thank you!
From: barbara | 3/17/12 at 8:48 pm
Hello, could you please tell me what measurement system is used in this recipe (US, metric ....) I'm not sure what the cup and tablespoon sizes are.
From: Liz | 3/27/12 at 11:47 am
Can you recommend a brand or company that sells chickpea flour made from cooked beans, as you mention in the post?
From: chanel | 3/30/12 at 3:25 pm
made this last night for my family and topped with some roasted garlic hummus, roasted beets and tomatoes, some fresh arugula tossed in white balsamic vinegar,slivered almonds, avocado, and home made pickled red onion...it was fantastic!!! I highly recommend it. Great recipe!
From: Michelle | 3/30/12 at 10:59 pm
I made this tonight for myself and my 16 year old son. I am vegan; he is not. Neither of us had ever had socca before. I made the basic recipe but added just a pinch of cumin to the recipe and cooked it in olive oil rather than ghee or coconut oil. Added more salt and pepper after it was cooked. We both loved it! I look forward to exploring variations, and I thank you for posting your recipe and photos! I looked around at others, but yours was the one that drew me in.
From: Socca – Chickpea flatbread from Shorty! | recipe 2 recipe | 5/4/12 at 7:03 am
[...] out the following websites for their beautiful socca blogs: Whole Living Daily, The Kitchn, David Leibovitz, pure 2 raw, Cook For [...]
From: Anjali | 5/8/12 at 7:22 pm
Just saw this. I am of Indian origin, and we use besan quite a bit. My mother makes a besan "patura," which is like an egg-free omelette using besan flour mixed with whatever vegies - bell peppers, onions, zucchini, etc. It's a great, meat-free breakfast/brunch dish.
Besan can also be used to batter fried foods (much like panko or breadcrumbs) or little besan "nuggets" made out of batter can be used in a curry and lend a satisfying meat/tofu like texture that is compatible with meat/soy free diets!
Clearly, I love besan flour.
From: WHAT 5 FAVORITE FOODS WOULD YOU BRING TO THE MOON? | 6/22/12 at 1:41 pm
[...] For complete directions, please refer to this link. [...]
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From: Monday Blues. | Write. Cook. Travel. Live. | 11/6/12 at 7:43 pm
[...] that I can throw any random toppings on top along with tons of cheese, and call it dinner. I used Sarah’s recipe and even made my own chickpea flour as she suggested. For those of you who aren’t familiar [...]
From: Socca – Chickpea flatbread from Shorty! « jittery cook | 11/30/12 at 6:31 am
[...] out the following websites for their beautiful socca blogs: Whole Living Daily, The Kitchn, David Leibovitz, pure 2 raw, Cook For [...]
From: Rosmarin Socca mit Mangold & Oliven | 2/7/13 at 12:45 pm
[...] und ruhen zu lassen, eure Verdauung wird euch die Wartezeit danken. Ich mache unseren Teig, wie von Sarah vorgeschlagen morgens, gehe ins Büro und abends muss er nur noch gebacken und getoppt werden. So ist in weniger [...]
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