Sister Socca with Indian Spices & Sister Socca Pizza

Guess who’s back?

Back again.

Heather’s back.

Tell a friend.

Guess who’s back?

Guess who’s back?

Guess who’s back?

Guess who’s back?

Heather’s back! And we decided to have another experimenting sister-date in the kitchen. This time, we were playing around with socca — a chickpea pancake from Nice of gluten-free proteiny deliciousness.

[Heather says: Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.]

Socca is one of those foods that I’ve been interested in for a long time — it’s all over the vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free food blogs, and Marc Bittman keeps writing about it.  As I’m currently experimenting with eating gluten-free, I thought this was the perfect time to try out socca, which is naturally gluten-free as it is made from chickpea flour.

Heather loves pizza, and so I tempted her into a sister-date to make socca by saying we could top it with pizza toppings!  [Heather says: I loved Linz’s Roasted Chickpeas recipe and was excited to try chickpeas in pizza.]

We tried two versions: 1) Socca with Indian Spices and 2) Socca Pizza with Mushrooms, Spinach, and Green Peppers.  Both were delicious and we’ve put both recipes here.  [Heather says: We decided to make two different styles today, as we were both new to socca.  We took all the spices in the kitchen and smelled them to decide which would be best in our socca.  We divided them into two different styles (the Indian and the Italian) and made two totally different socca flavours!]

We followed Marc Bittman’s instructions (from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian) for the socca pizza, and baked it for 5 minutes before adding the toppings and baking for another 10 minutes.  This made for a smooshy crust and perfect toppings.  Next time, we’re going to try making the socca as a pancake first (15 minutes in the oven, then 3 minutes under the broiler) before topping and baking for an additional 5 minutes for a crispier socca crust.

The nice thing about socca, is that it’s super quick and easy to make.  [Heather says: It was one of the easiest things I’ve ever made, and it would be perfect for an on-the-fly dinner party or meal on one’s own.]

Socca is also very versatile — you can add any herbs or spices you have on hand to the batter to change up the flavours on the fly.  We were talking about a rosemary & garlic variation or an olive & lemon zest socca.

Socca is also the perfect accompaniment to a backyard photo shoot.  We had so much fun making it, and hope you do too!

Socca with Indian Spices
Adapted from Marc Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Serves 4-6 as an appetizer

• 90g (3/4c.) chickpea flour
• 350ml lukewarm water
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. curry powder
• 1/4 tsp. ground coriander seed
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. raw garlic, peeled & minced
• 4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4c. red onion, minced

Add the water, salt & pepper, spices, garlic, and 2 Tbsp. of the olive oil.  Whisk until you get rid of all lumps.  Add the onion & stir to incorporate.  Let the batter rest for a minimum of a few minutes, or up to 12 hours, covered with a tea towel.

Preheat your oven to 450F.  Pour 1 Tbsp. of olive oil into a well-seasoned or nonstick pizza pan or skillet (12″ or 30cm with at least 1/2″ or 1.25cm sides).  Pour the chickpea batter into the pizza pan:

Bake at 450F for 15 minutes, or until the socca is firm.

Brush or drizzle the top of the socca with the remaining 1 Tbsp. of olive oil.  Broil for 1-2 minutes, or until the top develops brown spots.

Cut into wedges and eat with delight!

Socca Pizza with Mushrooms, Spinach, and Green Peppers
Adapted from Marc Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Serves 2 as a main course

• 90g (3/4c.) chickpea flour
• 350ml lukewarm water
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. dried tarragon
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
• 1 tsp. raw garlic, peeled & minced
• 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4c. red onion, minced
• 1/4c. tomato sauce
• 1/2c. spinach
• 1/2c. sliced mushrooms, sauteed in 1 Tbsp. olive or coconut oil
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1/4c. cheddar cheese (optional)
• 1/4c. semi-soft goat’s chevre (optional)