Crispy, Chewy, Gluten-Free: Socca (Chickpea Pancake) Recipe Reviews

Socca is a classic street food from the South of France. In Nice you'll see street vendors with big smoking grills cooking wafer-thin socca pancakes. They chop them up, piping hot, and give them to you with flurries of salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. When consumed with the ice-cold rosé of the region, it's the taste of Nice.

I ate socca when in Nice last year and loved the slightly bitter taste of the chickpea flour and the way it shows off the rich olive oils of the area. It's salty, peppery, silky, chewy, crunchy around the burnt edges. You can always eat more socca.

I didn't expect to make socca at home; it seems to belong exclusively to the south of France. But then David Lebovitz posted his own recipe for it, and it looked so remarkably easy that I gave it a try. I was hosting a gluten-free friend for lunch and wanted to serve her something new.

The recipe was simple enough: you mix up a batter of chickpea flour, water, a little olive oil, a touch of cumin and salt. You let this stand for a couple hours. Then you heat up a cast iron skillet or pan in the oven and pour in more olive oil.

Spread the batter in a thin layer, broil it for 5-10 minutes, depending on how thick the batter is, and then take it out when the top looks charred. Drizzle on more olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and chop into pieces.

Well, it was quite a success! This stuff is ridiculously easy, and if you broil it long enough you even get that charred, smoky taste. Chop it into little pieces and it's not only a great bread substitute for gluten-free folks — it's the perfect finger food for pre-dinner appetizers. It doesn't fill you up, and that smoky chewiness with a hint of bitter just makes you hungry for dinner.

I've served this now both cold and hot, plain with salt and oil, and festooned with roasted tomatoes. I've served platters of it with cheese and beer, and small plates with summer vegetables and good wine. It's my favorite appetizer and I don't think I'll ever get tired of it.

• Get the recipe: Socca at David Lebovitz's blog

A few notes:

• If you want to be absolutely sure your chickpea flour is gluten-free, buy it from a GF brand or in GF-certified packaging, like from Bob's Red Mill. Otherwise, you can find chickpea flour at many health food groceries, and in Indian and Mediterranean groceries. In Indian groceries it will probably be labeled besan.

• Do add the touch of cumin David recommends; it gives just the right hint of smokiness.

• I have some occasional troubles with this sticking to the pan. It's never in between; either it sticks like murder, or it slides right out. I think that it sticks when the pan is too hot and when I haven't put in enough oil.

Serve with an extra drizzle of olive oil and lots of salt and pepper. Delicious!

(Images: Faith Durand)

I use chickpea flour in just about everything; good to know it has yet another use. Thanks for this!

posted by no accounting for taste on October 14th 2009 at 5:19pm
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Awesome! Thank you for sharing.

posted by LauraEvrard on October 14th 2009 at 5:28pm
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i was just taught how to make a tuscan version of this (recipe on my blog).. i have to say, this version sounds much tastier! the flavor of the one i had was predominately beany. i may have to give this a try.

posted by ellenp1214 on October 14th 2009 at 5:37pm
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Yummy -- I'm in. There's something about chick peas in every way, shape and form that make me come back for more. They're always satisfying to the pallate and in the stomach.

posted by lindalucille on October 14th 2009 at 6:12pm
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Num num num. I also tried Socca for the first time last year in Nice. Love at first bite. Thanks for sharing--I'll definitely be trying out this recipe.

posted by dulcedieu on October 14th 2009 at 7:00pm
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Can we have some high-gluten recipes to make up for these silly gluten-free ones?

posted by davebarnes on October 14th 2009 at 11:04pm
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I'm gluten-intolerant and so appreciative that you posted this! It looks fantastic. From the look of it, seems to me it would also make a great cracker substitute, or go well dipped in hummus or tzatziki.

posted by SarahBerneche on October 14th 2009 at 11:18pm
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@davebarnes, I assure there is nothing silly about a gluten-free recipe when you've got Celiac Disease.

I really like socca. There's a restaurant in Hell's Kitchen called Nizza that serves it topped with all sorts of wonderful things. It's a perfect accompaniment to a large bowl of tomato soup.

Thanks for the #gfree love. =)

posted by zuzupetals on October 15th 2009 at 9:14am
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On current issue of VegNews Magazine, I saw a similar recipe for Farinata which the recipe is very similar, only you bake it and not broil it. The end result looks exactly like your photo. VegNews version is: posted here by a reader:

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=766845

I had made my comments on this site where instead of using a 12-inch pizza pan, I used a 10-inch cast iron skillet preheated in the oven at temperature specified in recipe. There are so many versions of Farinata or Socca recipes written, but I tend to like this version which is quite different but very delicious. The texture is very much like a flat bread and the crispier the bottom is, the tastier.

I am very addicted to this recipe and will try yours to compare the difference. Not to mention...I've been adidicted to Falafels too. What's with that?

posted by beethoven on October 15th 2009 at 1:10pm
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Socca is even better with lots of black pepper and lemon juice squeezed on top. I live right next to Nice and never, ever get tired of eating this dish.

posted by zoeroth on October 16th 2009 at 7:24am
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I made this for my blog a few months back! See?href>

No, there's nothing silly about celiac disease; but neither is there anything silly about this recipe. It's legitimately delicious, and just happens to be gluten-free. Much like pork is gluten-free and delicious. The difference is, socca coincidentally looks and tastes a little like bread.

Socca ftw!

ABreadADay.com

posted by eprewitt on October 16th 2009 at 1:32pm
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Oh wow... I just tried this tonight, what a winner. Absolutely incredible. Like the lightest naan bread you've ever eaten.

It was totally worth accidentally setting my pan on fire while heating the oil, waiting for the fire to go out, waiting for the pan to cool a little, cleaning the pan, then restarting to eat this. Although if you can avoid that process, I'm sure it's just as good.

posted by ivyr on October 25th 2009 at 1:59am
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