Socca (Farinata)

At my last Quick Bites cooking class,

 one of my students offered to 

share with me a

 recipe for a gluten free flatbread with

 onions and rosemary

a friend had served her recently

She sent the recipe that night and I was surprised to find it

to be a version of Socca - a chickpea flour pancake that I had highlighted 

with lobster at my Chef's Dinner in July

Long story short, I've made it three times already,

even bringing it as a contribution to Thanksgiving dinner

My favorite version being with scallions instead of onion slices

I thought I'd share the recipe on 

Quick to make, delicious hot from the oven, 

 very versatile and chickpea flour is

full of protein - a true winner.

Thank you Callie

Enjoy!

p.s. The swiss chard is from my garden - I've kept it covered with row cover

and even when it freezes I am able to pick it and cook it before it

defrosts - like my own Green Giant frozen vegetables!

Recipe: Socca (Farinata)

From Mark Bittmann in his erstwhile NYT column:

Published: October 19, 2005

Time: 45 minutes

1 cup chickpea flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon, at least, ground black pepper
4 to 6 tablespoons olive oil
½ large onion, thinly sliced, optional
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, optional.

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a well-seasoned or nonstick 12-inch pizza pan or cast-iron skillet in oven. Sift chickpea flour into a bowl; add salt and pepper; then slowly add 1 cup lukewarm water, whisking to eliminate lumps. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cover, and let sit while oven heats, or as long as 12 hours. Batter should be about the consistency of heavy cream.

2. If using onion and rosemary, stir them into batter. Pour 2 tablespoons oil into heated pan, and swirl to cover pan evenly. Pour in batter, and bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until pancake is firm and edges set. Heat broiler, and brush top of socca with 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil if it looks dry.

3. Set socca a few inches away from broiler for a few minutes, just long enough to brown it spottily. Cut it into wedges, and serve hot, or at least warm.

Yield: 4 to 6 appetizer servings.