These golden brown chickpea flour crêpes – known as socca in Nice and farinata in Liguria – are served deliciously warm from the oven, seasoned generously with coarsely ground black pepper, then torn into raggedy shards and eaten out of hand.

This is a simple, gluten free preparation – made from just 4 ingredients – but can be frustrating to get “just right.” The batter (which should contain oil, but the end result shouldn’t be oily) can be made several hours ahead, with the socca baked at the very last moment. Once baked, it should be just thick enough to fold into torn portions, not break up into dry handkerchiefs. This beauty was baked in a tin-lined copper socca pan, much like a flat paella pan, but any large, round, flat oven-proof pan, such as a cast iron skillet would do just fine.

Nourish notes: Chickpeas have some of the lowest carbon emissions of any plant foods, and ground into flour make a healthy, creative alternative to wheat flour. There are 6,000 plant species available to us for cultivation for food, yet the ubiquity of monocultures in industrial farming mean that only 9 of them make up 66% of total crop production. Filling our pantries with a wide variety of grains, legumes and flours is not only good for our health but is a way to support biodiversity in our food system.

Socca

Chickpea Flour Crêpes

8 servings   |    Equipment: a  2-cup (500 ml) measuring cup, with a pouring spout; a 12- inch (30 cm) round ovenproof socca pan, paella pan, or cast-iron skillet; a pastry brush

Ingredients

1 cup (100 g) chickpea (garbanzo) flour
1 cup (250ml) water
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 tablespoons fruity, extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Coarse, freshly ground black pepper (Timut by preference)

Method

1.     In the measuring cup, whisk together the flour, water, salt, and 2 tablespoons of oil. The batter should be thin and crepe-like. It will be a bit lumpy. (The batter can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance, stored and covered at room temperature.)

2.     About 25 minutes before baking the socca, place a rack in the bottom shelf of the oven. Place the empty pan or skillet on the shelf. Preheat the oven to maximum, ideally at least 450°F (230°C) to 500°F (260°C).

 3.     To bake the the socca, carefully remove the hot pan or skillet from the oven. Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil into the pan and brush to evenly distribute the oil. Pour the batter into the pan, swirling to evenly distribute the batter. Return the pan to the oven and bake until the socca is bubbly, colored a deep golden brown and evenly dotted with little crater-like holes, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, and season generously with the pepper. Use a scraper to scrape the socca into raggedy shards.  Serve warm.

This is a Nourish the Planet recipe, part of a collaborative series by Patricia Wells and Emily Buchanan.
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