This is 100% a travel-inspired recipe.
As if I can’t talk about it enough, my mom and I had theeee most amazing trip to France last summer. It ended along the Meditteranean coast in Nice.
Nice is home to so many amazing restaurants featuring fresh fish, mussels, and the best gelato I’ve ever had (willing to test that out and go to Italy, though). But they’re also known for Socca.
Of course, we had to try it. And of course, we ordered way too much and ate until we were stuffed. And then walked down by the sea and ate another lunch. It was a good day.
So when I got home, I knew I’d have to bring this easy, simple, and surprisingly delicious socca recipe to you. For you to enjoy yourself in your kitchen. That is, until you can hop on a plane and head to Nice.
What is Socca?
It’s kind of like a pancake, kind of like a flatbread, kind of like a crepe.
But it’s socca.
It’s thin and crispy, made with chickpea flour, a little bit of olive oil, water, and sea salt.
It turns into a crisp flatbread with a soft center that’s perfect for snacking on alone, with dips, or even as a pizza base!
Tips for Making Socca
In Nice, socca was made in a huge copper pan over an open fire. Sounds like heaven, right?
Now, I know we can’t all make socca that way, but we can get *a little bit* close.
You need one piece of kitchen equipment. I highly recommend a cast-iron skillet. You’re not going to get the crisp exterior any other way. The key is putting the batter in an already hot pan, and a cast iron is the perfect even heat conductor to do the job.
The oil also heats up inside the pan, so once the batter is poured around the sizzling pan, it begins to form the caramelized, crispy texture that socca has to have.
About that cast-iron… use a 10-inch skillet. A 12-inch will be too big for this recipe, but if it’s what you have, it will just result in a much crispier flatbread (which is no problem by me).
Experiment away with your own cast-iron skillet to see which size works best for your preferences. Just keep in mind that the recipe was written and tested best with a 10-inch skillet.
What to Eat with Socca
I mentioned a few options: 1) eat it as is, 2) make a socca pizza, or 3) use it as a flatbread for your favorite dipping sauces.
In Nice, we had socca with a variety of dips:
You could go wild and crazy (not really, just delicious) and do a little kale artichoke dip with the socca slices or serve next to your favorite spicy chili.
The beauty is that whatever purpose you make socca for it’s going to be 1) SO. EASY. TO. DO.
Whisk. Heat. Pour. Bake. Eat.
2) It seriously only requires one real ingredient. And by real I mean one that you’re going to have to go buy especially for the socca. That is the chickpea flour (AKA garbanzo bean flour).
Because I know you have olive oil, water, and salt in that pantry of yours.
Looking for some flavor additions?
Go a little rogue and mix in your favorite herbs! I loved adding fresh chives and serving the socca bread with chili (lentil soup would also be fabulous).
Fresh rosemary is another hit in the socca. Add some red pepper flakes for a kick. If you’re serving it with a main course, add in the herb or flavor profile that will pair best.
So go, lovelies, go make this super quick and easy gluten-free flatbread that is otherwise known as socca (or a lot of other things around the Mediterranean) and eat it to your heart …er, belly… is content.
Bon appetit!
Get the Recipe Socca (Chickpea Flatbread)
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil, for pan
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour
- 1/2 cup lukewarm water
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tsp olive oil
Equipment
Instructions
- Add 2 1/2 TBSP olive oil in an 10-inch cast iron skillet. Place in the oven and preheat to 450°F. You want the oil to heat as the oven does so the oil and pan both get hot.
- Whisk together all the ingredients until combined. Carefully remove the skillet from the oven and pour the batter into the skillet, swirling around as you do so. The batter should coat the bottom of the skillet evenly.
- Bake the socca for 15-17 minutes until crispy. Flip once removed from the oven to give the other side a bit of crisp as desired. Sprinkle on additional sea salt flakes and serve warm.
this is so easy and it tastes and smells so good out of the oven 🙂
So glad to hear! Thank you!
Easy peasy but i think my pan is smaller so could have cooked longer and be slightly crispier. Delicious!
Thanks for sharing, Pam! I’m glad you still enjoyed!