Socca – Garbanzo or Chickpea Flatbread from France

If you can’t travel to the south of France, use this recipe to make Socca Chickpea Flatbread at home. This tasty chickpea flatbread from France is low-glycemic, dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, and South Beach Diet phase two. Use Bread Recipes to find more recipes like this one.

Click here to PIN Socca Chickpea Flatbread!

Chickpea flour is used all over the world to make thin flatbread crepes, pancakes, or crackers. Depending on where they’re made, they can be called Pappadum (India), Farinata (Italy) or Socca (France). Farinata and Socca may or may not be the same, depending on which expert you ask, but they’re definitely similar.

When I found some chickpea flour at a middle eastern market in L.A., I experimented with Farinata, producing something that tasted great but seemed too thick and looked different than other versions of Farinata I saw around the web. At the time I had some e-mail discussion with David Lebovitz, who had loved the Socca he found in France and had been experimenting with making Socca. He told me there can be quite a lot of variation in different types of chickpea flour, which only made me more determined to try it again.

Fast forward to the release of David’s new book The Sweet Life in Paris, and the perfected Socca recipe on his blog, which rekindled my desire to try making it. I was also lucky enough to happen upon a great little cast iron griddle, small enough to fit under the broiler, so a few days ago I gave it a try.

If only I knew how to say it was fantastic in French (or Italian), I could properly express how much I liked this. Definitely thinner and less crispy than my previous Farinata experiment, and perfectly delightful eaten hot from the griddle, with a bit of olive oil drizzled on and some salt and fresh ground black pepper. And did I mention that this low-glycemic treat is not only South Beach Diet friendly, but also gluten free and loaded with nutrients?

I found this brand of garbanzo or chickpea flour at Whole Foods, and it seemed yellower and not as fine as the type I used for my Farinata, so I had hopes it would be more similar to what’s used in Europe. As David recommended, after I mixed the chickpea flour, water, salt, cumin, and olive oil, I let the batter rest for a few hours.

This is my lovely new cast iron griddle, purchased at Smith’s Marketplace in Salt Lake City for $12.79. What a bargain, huh? To cook the Socca, you brush the griddle with olive oil, heat it under the broiler, pour on a thin layer of batter, and cook under the broiler. Maybe I was nervous about burning it, because my first attempt turned out a little pale, although it was quickly devoured with no complaints! This was my second try, but by the third one I learned that I got best results when I poured the batter straight down in the middle and let it naturally run out to the edges. By the second one I was leaving them under the broiler until they browned a bit, but were still slightly soft and could easily be folded.

I guess I’ll have to go to France and Italy and try authentic Farinata and Socca to see how my results would compare, but in the meantime I’ll definitely be making them often at home.

More Tasty Treats with Chickpeas:

Chickpea Cakes with Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce ~ Aggie’s Kitchen
Chickpea Salad with Tomatoes, Olives, Basil, and Parsley ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Sweet Heat Chickpea Avocado Salad Sandwich ~ Tidy Mom
Curried Chickpea Salad from Joan’s on Third ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Salt and Vinegar Roasted Chickpeas ~ A Beautiful Plate

Print Recipe

Socca - Garbanzo or Chickpea Flatbread from France

Yield: Makes about 3 thin flatbread pancakes

Total Time: 14-17 minutes, plus proofing time

Prep Time: 10 minutes, plus proofing time

Cook Time: 4-7 minutes

Socca is a tasty chickpea flatbread from France you can easily make at home.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chickpea flour
• 1 cup plus 2 T water
• 3/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin (David used 1/8 tsp.)
• 1 1/2 T olive oil (plus more for brushing griddle and drizzling over finished Socca)

Directions:

1. Whisk together the chickpea flour, water, cumin, and olive oil.
2. Cover container and let rest for 2-3 hours at room temperature.
3. When ready to cook Socca, preheat broiler. (I have a gas broiler, so I’m not sure how the results would be different with an electric broiler.)
4. When broiler is hot, brush cast iron griddle or frying pan with olive oil, heat under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, then remove from oven (use a mitt!) and pour on a thin layer of batter.
5. Cook Socca under the broiler until it has firmed and well-browned, especially on the edges.
6. For me, this took 2-4 minutes under the broiler.
7. Continue to make Socca pancakes like this, brushing the griddle with oil and heating it between each one.
8. Cut finished Socca into rough triangular pieces, sprinkle with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
9. Serve hot.

Notes:

This recipe adapted very slightly from The Sweet Life in Paris and Socca Enfin on David’s blog.

All images and text ©Kalyn Denny for Kalyn's Kitchen.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Socca Chickpea Flatbread is too high in carbs for traditional low-carb diet plans, but it’s low-glycemic and approved for the South Beach Diet Phase Two. I think this would make a great gluten-free replacement for pita bread and I can imagine serving it with Hummus, Falafel, or Tzatziki Sauce.

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