Freshly cooked socca with onions and rosemary.
Last summer while my family was visiting France we stumbled upon a little restaurant in the south that only sold socca. Being the ever curious foodie, I went inside to figure out what socca was - I hadn’t heard of it. Socca is like a cross between a pancake and a crepe but it is made with chickpea flour, oil and salt. Traditionally it’s cooked in wood ovens on copper disks and served hot or warm right out of the pan. Later in the trip we were at a local farmers market and there was a socca vendor with a wood fired oven he had carted to the market, it was the perfect street food wrapped up in paper.
Honestly, I hadn’t thought much about it until recently when I was at the grocery store and noticed chickpea flour on the shelves (one of the last flour options left in my local store that day). I remembered something about chickpea flour and the socca I learned about in France, so I grabbed some hoping I could put it together pretty easily.
Turns out this was the perfect find. As you’ll see socca takes minimal ingredients and I had everything else on hand. I served the socca with a few roasted vegetables, avocado and a soft boiled pasture-raised egg. It was delicious and brought us all back to that little cafe in the south of France last summer.
Socca can be served plain (how my girls liked it) or with extra toppings cooked up inside. I like it both ways, but here I’m showing you how to include onions and rosemary. The batter needs to sit for at least half an hour (while the oven pre-heats) before you cook it, but once it’s prepared it goes pretty fast. However the exact time needed under the broiler will depend on how hot your broiler gets so be sure to stay close to the oven.
If you are on the path to pregnancy chickpeas are an excellent addition to your diet. These legumes are full of vitamin B6 which is essential for maintaining hormonal balance and improving egg and sperm development. They are also full of folate (an essential nutrient for mothers-to-be), and fiber which helps stabilize blood sugar and support proper digestion. While I would be sure to include whole chickpeas too, using chickpea flour, as in this socca recipe is a fun and different way to gain the nutritional benefits of these little legumes.
If you happen upon some chickpea flour the next time you’re at the store I encourage you to try making socca. I would love to hear what you think!
Socca
Ingredients:
3 cups chickpea flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 cups warm water, divided
2 tablespoons melted extra virgin coconut oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons ghee, divided
Preparation:
Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place a well-seasoned pan or cast-iron skillet in the oven while the oven is pre-heating.
Put the chickpea flour, salt and pepper in a bowl, whisk to combine. Slowly add 1 and 1/2 cups warm water and whisk until smooth. Add remaining water and melted coconut oil, whisk again, cover and let sit while the oven heats, or for as long as 24 hours. The batter should be the consistency of heavy cream.
Remove the pan, add 1 tablespoon of ghee and swirl it around to make sure the pan is covered. Add the onions and heat the skillet on the stove top until they are soft and starting to brown. Be careful not to touch the handle of the pan as it will be very hot. Stir in the rosemary. Take off the heat and stir the onions and rosemary into the batter, now pour about 1/3 of the batter into the pan (if needed add a little more ghee so your socca doesn’t stick to the pan).
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the batter is firm and the edges are set. Now heat the broiler on high and set the pan a few inches away. Cook just long enough for it to start to brown in spots, about 3-6 minutes.
Remove from broiler, again being very careful of the hot handle. Loosen edges of socca with a flat spatula or an off-set spatula. Slide onto a cutting board, cut into wedges, and serve immediately. Repeat with remaining batter two more times. Alternatively, store remaining batter in the fridge for up to 24 hours and bring to room temperature before cooking in the same way.