The Socca Chronicles

Besides the whole manganese thing, there are other aspects to socca that I love. It’s versatile, it’s delicious, but above all else, it’s comforting.

And I’m a huge fan of all things comforting. I am comforted by the smell of my Lilli cat after she comes back inside early in the morning (No, I’m not kidding.), the images of autumn and the tastes it brings with it, the warmth of a kitchen in use, with the sounds of bubbling concoctions in pots and sizzling foods in pans, and this is just to name a few.

Socca is now an official Morri favorite, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. I’ve perfected how to cook it* and have come up with quite a few variations of the original recipe. For a single serving I do 2.1 oz (or 1/2 cup) of garbanzo bean flour to 3.15 oz water, 5 g (or 1 tsp.) olive oil, and up to 1/4 tsp. of sea salt. The beautiful thing about this ratio – as the wonderful bloggers from the GFRR about any ratio will tell you – is how easy it is to multiply or decrease recipe to the number of people you want to cook for. You can cook for an entire food bloggers convention for hundreds and it would still turn out as amazingly as you would for a single serving. It’s also great as food on the go. I quickly cooked up a batch and ate it in the car on the way to the S/CAR resume workshop last Tuesday, wrapped in a paper towel and steaming hot.

Honestly, the average socca recipe is a great base for any flavor combination you could ever think of. Would you like a few examples? Oh, what am I saying, of course you do.

After my sweet and savory carrot socca success, I started looking into different spices and accompaniments:

Pesto Socca

2.1 oz Garbanzo bean flour
3.15 oz Water
1 tsp. Olive oil
1/4 tsp. Sea salt
1/2 tsp Basil pesto (store-bought from Trader Joe’s and is not vegetarian)

I greased the pan with coconut oil instead of olive oil. It tasted amazing with the prosciutto, Dijon mustard, and basil.

Peppered Socca

2.1 oz Garbanzo bean flour
3.15 oz Water
1 tsp. Olive oil
1/4 tsp. Sea salt
1/4 tsp. Cracked pepper

Then I tried cooking it with additional flours and different oils:

Coconut Socca

0.25 oz Coconut flour
1.85 oz Garbanzo bean flour
4 oz Water (coconut flour is like a sponge)
1 tsp. (7 g) Coconut oil, room temperature
1/4 tsp. Sea salt

It was a lot fluffier and more delicate due to the coconut flour and additional water. I topped it with a savory smear made with pumpkin puree, tahini, and coconut aminos. Oh, and a little curry powder goes a long way.

Mexican Mesquite Socca

0.5 oz Mesquite flour
1.85 oz Garbanzo bean flour
3.5 oz Water
1 tsp. Olive oil
1/4 tsp. Sea salt
Cinnamon, as garnish

Coincidentally, both the Coconut Socca and the Mexican Mesquite Socca are sweet socca as opposed to savory, but can be used for both depending on what you eat them with.

And most recently, as in today for lunch, I used socca in a different way entirely:

Socca Pizza

2.1 oz Garbanzo bean flour
3.15 oz Water
1 tsp. Olive oil
1/4 tsp. Sea salt
1 Komato (or any small tomato of your choosing), sliced thinly into crescents
1 stalk Thai basil leaves (or regular basil), plucked and cut into fine slivers
1 tbsp. White onion, finely chopped
2 oz Ricotta cheese
Italian seasoning, for garnish
Red chili pepper flakes, for garnish

It turned out to be such an amazing crust for a single serving pizza, and much better than a traditional thin crust. It also gave me an idea for my next socca creation, one that has to do with sunny side up eggs and pork belly crisped bacon-style for breakfast. Something tells me socca is going to end up having it's own category on the Recipe Index page.

So now I want to hear from you. What unconventional ways have you made socca? How did it turn out? What interesting combinations would you like to try but haven’t done so already?

*How to cook socca… the MWM way:

Using this method in regard to pan-frying, I cook the socca like I would a pancake in cast-iron griddle pan on medium heat. Once it has set on the bottom and the bubbles have popped on the top, I put it under the broiler for a couple of minutes until the top has set. Sometimes I will flip it over and put it under the broiler again or use the stovetop for a crispier result.