Sometimes the very best food is also the very simplest.

–>Enter the socca, an amazing, versatile little snack/bread/crepe/tortilla/pizza crust.

soccas

The socca is a regional street food in Southeastern France, and also in a corresponding area over the border in Italy, where it is called “farinata”. It is primarily made from Garbanzo bean flour (also called chick pea or cece bean) water and olive oil.

The result is far greater than the sum of its parts. Hot out of the oven – or off the griddle – a socca is rich in flavor, and satisfying in texture.

Soccas are fast and easy to make, and so for me are a convenience food when there is no other “bread” in the house, a sure bonus for anyone on a restricted diet who cannot just run to the store to buy a loaf of bread!

Soccas are wheat  / gluten free, sugar free, yeast free, dairy and egg free.

Soccas

• 1 cup garbanzo bean flour
• Scant 1 cup water
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary (or to taste)
• dash of sea salt

This recipe can be doubled.

Whisk all 5 ingredients together and mix well until very smooth. Cover and let rest at least 15 minutes. (You can also refrigerate for up to several hours for later use.)

Heat a large cast iron skillet or safe non-stick pan over medium heat. The pan should be thoroughly pre-heated before you start. You can spray with non-stick cooking spray if desired. Add a little olive oil (a teaspoon is about right). Pour in about 1/4 cup of batter and swirl the pan around to make a thin round.

Cook about 3 minutes. The bottom will be lightly golden brown and lacy/crispy. Remove with spatula. Repeat with remaining batter. Makes 5 or 6 soccas.

You can also cook the other side to make a crisper socca suitable for light toppings.

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Notes:

Thanx to chow.com and Zola’s restaurant for the original recipe. Traditionally soccas are cooked in an oven, but I find that this method is easier.

You may add fresh ground black pepper if desired either in the batter or after cooking.

I have used soccas in place of tortillas and crepes, baked them stiff/crisp and used them for an impromtu pizza crust (really good with pesto pizza), and simply rolled them up and eaten them out of hand for a snack. Soccas go great with Mediterranean style dishes and flavors.

If you find that the nutty flavor of the garbanzo flour is a bit strong for you, try these with Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose GF Baking Flour, it’s a bit milder and the results are still great.

Do you have a favorite way to fix, or eat, soccas?