RECIPES - socca de Nice

socca street vendor on the Promenade

This recipe has been in my "stack of recipes to share" for a while, and now is the ideal time for it! 
A typical dish from Nice, this big ancient city on the Cote d'Azur, the city where everyone around here always sighs and says ".. but Nice is such a big city". And yes, it is. But it has lots of charme and still lots of tradition one of which is the preparation of a socca, or farinata as it is called in nearby Italy.

Eaten straight off the pan it is simply and truly a delight! And if you ever wondered what to make with chickpea flour here is your answer!

Traditionally baked in a brick-clay oven fired with oak wood it tastes almost as good as the real thing in Nice when baked in a regular oven at home. If you happen to own a cast-iron skillet the result will be phenomenal but a regular pizza tin or anything like that will also do.
 

traditional baking in a wood-fired oven

delicious socca out of the oven at home

     

And it's so easy to make! Simply make a batter like for pancakes or crepes, pour that into the dish or pan, place it in the oven for a few minutes, et voilà la socca!

1 cup chickpea flour
2-3 cups of lukewarm water
1 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
1 teapspoon freshly ground black pepper
4-6 tablespoons olive oil, preferably from handpicked olives or a local producer of trust

Preheat the oven to 200`C on the top-grill setting. Once hot place the oiled pan in the oven until the oil starts to smoke. Renmove the hot pan (careful not to burn your hands!) and pour the batter into it. Place it back in the oven for about 10 minutes, then remove from the oven (very hot!), divide into slices and eat right away!

And if you feel like dressing it up be creative! I love fried onions and dried crushed rosemary from our garden or anything else that comes my way. Or simply with some extra freshly ground sea salt - delicious!

Bon appétit!