Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Socca by Nicole Lewis


This is a garbanzo bean flour “flatbread” that originated in the south of France. The method below requires cooking the socca in a cast iron skillet in the oven.



· Preheat your oven to 550 or 575.

· Mix 1.5 Cups of water, 3 Tbl of olive oil, 1 tsp of salt together in a large bowl.

· Next gradually whisk in 2 Cups of garbanzo bean flour (Bob’s Red Mill makes this and I usually find it at Ocean Stat Job Lot. If not there, you can order it online or check Whole Foods).

· The batter should be blended without lumps and should look creamy.

· Once the oven has preheated, place the iron skillet in the oven for about 5 minutes.

· Once the skillet is heated, take it out and working quickly, add a drizzle of olive oil to it and move it around to coat the skillet evenly.

· Pour some of the batter into the center of the skillet and then put in the oven.

· Cook for 5-10 minutes (this will vary on your oven and oven temp. I usually cook mine for 7-9 minutes at 550).

· Take out the skillet and flip the socca. Cook for another 3-5 minutes. Socca should be golden on both sides with maybe a little brown around the edges.

· Repeat with the remaining batter but make sure you add oil to coat the pan each time before pouring the batter.

· Depending on the size, you can use the socca as a base for pizza or other toppings. You can also eat it by itself, use as a base for dips or as bread for sandwiches.



A few notes:

· You can really experiment with this recipe. Feel free to add other seasonings and spices. I like to add about 1-2tsp of dried rosemary to my batter. The rosemary and garbanzo bean flavor really complement each other.

· You can also cook this in a skillet/frying pan on the stove top. I would recommend a medium-high cooking temp and watch closely.

· You can leave the batter out for a period of time as well….or in the refrigerator. Some recipes recommend letting it sit for a few hours.

· I like to top my socca with avocado, tomato, black bean and corn “salad.” I just mix those four items together with salt, garlic powder and red wine vinegar (I just add all ingredients to taste) and the put it on top of the socca.

· Another topping I like is Swiss chard and shallots sautéed in olive oil and salt.

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