Socca (Farinata or Cecina)

Socca is a popular street-food in the south of France and northern Italy. It's a cross between a pancake and a flatbread that is naturally gluten free. It should be creamy in the center, not floppy when you pick it up, and have crisp, brown edges. This is a simple recipe that everyone who eats gluten free must try!

this gluten free recipe

In Italy socca is called farinata but in Tuscany specifically they call it cecina. Regardless of the name, socca is most often drizzled with olive oil then sprinkled with sea salt and rosemary. It's meant to be eaten with your fingers and the French love it with a chilled glass of rosé wine. Sounds like Friday night to me!

Instructions: How To Make The Best Socca

This is a simple recipe yet there are a few steps to learn before you master it. The traditional way of cooking socca is in a cast iron pan on a roaring wood fire. Let’s assume you won’t be using a wood fire so these are my tips and techniques for the everyday home cook who has a stove and an oven.

• Preheat the oven then preheat the frying pan to achieve the crisp edges without burning your socca or leaving it soft in the middle.
• Sifting chickpea flour ensures there are no lumps in the bottom of the bowl.
• Letting the batter rest allows the starch to gel so the pancake won’t split as it cooks. I've made it many times without resting the batter.
• You want the sweetness of the chickpea to come through so do not roast the flour. (This comment is for super tasters and I’m not one of those.)

Now just get in the kitchen and mess around. Try all methods; use the oven and the broiler, try cooking socca on the stove or a pancake griddle. Try different pans and use a cast iron pan if you have one. Add seasoning to the batter or on top.

To use up all the batter at once I make my socca in two cast iron pans. I just happen to have a 10-inch one and a 7-inch one so that's what I use.

I still feel like I have more to learn but I enjoy my socca every time I make it and have often mixed it and cooked it on the stove without the resting time.

Socca

Socca is a popular street-food from the south of France and northern Italy. This unleavened pancake is made from chickpea flour so is a must try for everyone cooking gluten free. The possibilities are endless!

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Course: Baking, Bread, Rice Free Baking

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keyword: chickpea flour flatbread, socca

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes minutes

Optional Resting Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 people

Author: Cinde Little

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup chickpea flour sifted
• ▢ 1¼ cups water
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ additional oil for frying
• ▢ OPTIONAL GARNISH – olive oil, sea salt and fresh or dried rosemary

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Instructions

• Measure chickpea flour, water, salt and olive oil in large bowl. Whisk until combined.
• Let the batter rest for 30 minutes.*
• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Add olive oil to the cast iron pan and swirl to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Place in preheated oven for 5 minutes.
• Remove pan from oven and pour in enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan coming up the sides slightly. The amount of batter will depend on the size of your pan.

OVEN METHOD: 15-18 minutes

• Return pan to oven and cook socca until the edges are crisp and brown but not burnt, 15-18 minutes.

BROILER METHOD: 6-8 minutes

• Change oven setting to broil and place pan under broiler until the top is brown and blistered, 6-8 minutes. Adjust rack if it browns too quickly or too slowly.

SERVING

• Remove socca to cutting board. Sprinkle with olive oil, sea salt and rosemary.
• Cut into wedges and serve warm.
• Repeat with remaining batter cooking in batches based on the size of your pan(s).
• Makes 1⅔ cups batter. Can easily be halved or doubled.

Notes

Perfectly cooked socca will not be soft in the middle. This isn't difficult but it does take practise. Try all the methods and see what works best for you.

Soft Pancake Socca - You can also cook socca on the stove or a griddle like you would cook pancakes or crepes. This makes for a super quick wrap or rolled pancake-style bread. For the blistered top try a combination of cooking socca on the stove and finishing it under the broiler.

Best Pan for Socca - Cast iron is ideal but don't skip this recipe if you don't have one.

Pan Size - I use two cast iron pans; a 10-inch and an 8-inch pan. I pour 1 cup of batter into the 10-inch pan and ⅔ cup into the 8-inch pan cooking all of the batter at once.

*I've made this recipe immediately after mixing the flour and water as well as letting the batter rest for 30 minutes. I can't tell the difference but the majority of recipes recommend this. You can also let the batter sit overnight then skim off the foam on top to decrease digestive gas.