Name: Vegan Socca with Swiss Chard, Pistachios, and Apricots
Total time: 1 h
Ingredients: 1½ cups (6¾ ounces/191 grams) chickpea flour; ½ teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon pepper; ½ teaspoon turmeric; 1½ cups water; 6 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil; 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil; 1 onion , chopped fine; 2 garlic cloves , minced; ¾ teaspoon ground cumin; Salt and pepper; ⅛ teaspoon allspice; 12 ounces (340 grams) Swiss chard , stemmed and chopped; 3 tablespoons finely chopped dried apricot; 2 tablespoons finely chopped toasted pistachio; 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

Why This Recipe Works

The loose, pancake-like batter comes together in less than a minute: Simply whisk together chickpea flour, water, olive oil, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Traditionally the batter is poured into a cast-iron skillet and baked in a wood-burning oven to make a large socca with a blistered top and a smoky flavor. But in a home oven, this technique produced socca that was dry and limp. So we ditched the oven for the higher heat of the stovetop, which gave us crispy, golden-brown socca. But flipping the skillet-size socca wasn't as easy as we'd hoped. We solved this problem by making several smaller flatbreads instead. As an added bonus, these elegant flatbreads had a higher ratio of crunchy crust to tender interior. To complement our savory flatbreads, we came up with a flavorful topping of Swiss chard, dried apricots, and toasted pistachios that was earthy, sweet, and delicious. We used the warm spices cumin and allspice to balance the bright notes of the chickpea flour.

Instructions

for the batter

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet and place in oven. Whisk chickpea flour, salt, pepper, and turmeric together in bowl. Slowly whisk in water and 3 tablespoons oil until combined and smooth.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add ½ cup batter to skillet, tilting pan to coat bottom evenly. Reduce heat to medium and cook until crisp at edges and golden brown on bottom, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip socca and continue to cook until second side is browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer to wire rack in warm oven and repeat, working with 2 teaspoons oil and ½ cup batter at a time.

For the topping Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, cumin, ¼ teaspoon salt, and allspice and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in Swiss chard and apricots and cook until chard is wilted, 4 to 6 minutes. Off heat, stir in pistachios and vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Top each cooked socca with ⅓ cup chard mixture, slice, and serve.