Socca with Sautéed Onions and Rosemary
By Matthew FairmanPublished on January 27, 2022
Time
1¼ hours
Yield
Serves 4 to 6 (Makes four 10-inch pancakes)
Ingredients
Socca
1½ cups water 1 ⅓ cups (6 ounces/170 grams) chickpea flour ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus extra for drizzling1 teaspoon table salt ¼ teaspoon ground cumin Flake sea saltSautéed Onions
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 cups thinly sliced onions ½ teaspoon table salt 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemaryBefore You Begin
Chickpea flour is also sold as garbanzo flour; we don't recommend using besan or gram flour here. It's best to use a scale to weigh the flour for this recipe.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet and place in oven. Whisk water, flour, 4 teaspoons oil, table salt, and cumin in bowl until no lumps remain. Let batter rest while preparing onions, at least 10 minutes. (Batter will thicken as it sits.)
- Heat oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add onions and salt and cook until onions start to brown around edges but still have some texture, 7 to 10 minutes. Add rosemary and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer onion mixture to bowl; set aside. Wipe skillet clean with paper towels.
- Heat 2 teaspoons oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Lift skillet off heat and pour ½ cup batter into far side of skillet; swirl gently in clockwise direction until batter evenly covers bottom of skillet.
- Return skillet to heat and cook socca, without moving it, until well browned and crisp around bottom edge, 3 to 4 minutes (you can peek at underside of socca by loosening it from side of skillet with rubber spatula).
- Flip socca with rubber spatula and cook until second side is just cooked, about 1 minute. Transfer socca, browned side up, to prepared wire rack in oven to keep warm. Repeat 3 more times, using 2 teaspoons oil and ½ cup batter per batch.
- Transfer socca to cutting board and cut each into 8 wedges. Serve, topped with sautéed onions, drizzled with extra oil, and sprinkled with flake sea salt.
for the socca
for the sautéed onions
Time
1¼ hoursYield
Serves 4 to 6 (Makes four 10-inch pancakes)Ingredients
Socca
Sautéed Onions
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Socca
Sautéed Onions
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Socca
Sautéed Onions
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Also known as farinata, torta di ceci, or cecina in Italy and a close relative of fainá in Uruguay and Argentina, socca are a kind of pancake or flatbread made from a simple batter of chickpea flour, water, olive oil, and seasonings. They are beloved street food in Nice, France, and throughout the French Riviera. They're most commonly made by pouring a thin layer of the batter into a hot oiled pan and then baking them in a smoky, ripping-hot wood-fired oven until they're browned and crisp. Absent the large flat pans and wood oven, we turned to another method: cooking the batter like a crepe in a nonstick skillet on the stovetop. Letting our batter rest for 10 minutes allowed the chickpea flour to hydrate and the batter to thicken. Swirling the batter in our pan made for even socca. After about 5 minutes over medium-high heat, the underside of our socca had turned delightfully crispy and beautifully golden brown. These socca were excellent with just a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of flake sea salt, but we loved them even more when served with a simple topping of sautéed onions with rosemary.
Before You Begin
Chickpea flour is also sold as garbanzo flour; we don't recommend using besan or gram flour here. It's best to use a scale to weigh the flour for this recipe.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet and place in oven. Whisk water, flour, 4 teaspoons oil, table salt, and cumin in bowl until no lumps remain. Let batter rest while preparing onions, at least 10 minutes. (Batter will thicken as it sits.)
- Heat oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add onions and salt and cook until onions start to brown around edges but still have some texture, 7 to 10 minutes. Add rosemary and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer onion mixture to bowl; set aside. Wipe skillet clean with paper towels.
- Heat 2 teaspoons oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Lift skillet off heat and pour ½ cup batter into far side of skillet; swirl gently in clockwise direction until batter evenly covers bottom of skillet.
- Return skillet to heat and cook socca, without moving it, until well browned and crisp around bottom edge, 3 to 4 minutes (you can peek at underside of socca by loosening it from side of skillet with rubber spatula).
- Flip socca with rubber spatula and cook until second side is just cooked, about 1 minute. Transfer socca, browned side up, to prepared wire rack in oven to keep warm. Repeat 3 more times, using 2 teaspoons oil and ½ cup batter per batch.
- Transfer socca to cutting board and cut each into 8 wedges. Serve, topped with sautéed onions, drizzled with extra oil, and sprinkled with flake sea salt.
for the socca
for the sautéed onions
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