Skillet Socca

Have you ever heard of Socca?  I read about it for the first time a few days ago on The Edible Perspective and was intrigued.  Socca is basically a flat chickpea cake, which originated in Nice, France, and in its simplest form is a mix of chickpea flour, olive oil, water, and salt.  I just happened to have a bag of chickpea flour on hand (yes, who am I?) that deserved to be put to good use, so I decided to give it a go.

Since this was my first time making Socca, I kept it pretty basic and used a recipe inspired by this one on Pure2Raw.  The Pure2Raw girls actually have a whole "Socca Tribute" tab on their blog; I guess I'm a little late to this party...

My first attempt at Socca turned out fabulous.  For one thing, the recipe couldn't be easier and the preparation couldn't be simpler.  There was zero fuss involved in this recipe, which makes me like it even more.  Perfect for a quick dinner on the side of soup or a salad! What really sealed the deal though was the taste and texture.  Lemme break it down for you-- if you love hummus and you like doughy pancakes (or fudgey brownies?), then you'll probably love Socca.  Warm, doughy, fudgey, hummus-flavored flat bread AND it's healthy? Yes, please.

P.s- I can't wait to make a sweet version! Ashley already did if you don't feel like waiting on me.

Skillet Socca
Adapted from Pure2Raw

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour
1 teaspoon salt
generous pinch garlic powder and Hungarian hot paprika (optional)
1 1/4 cup water

Preparation
Preheat olive oil in a skillet or a cast iron pan over medium heat. In a medium bowl whisk together chickpea flour, salt, garlic powder, and hot paprika. Continue whisking as you add the water. Mix until no lumps remain (the batter will be very watery-- this is normal). Pour the batter into the hot oiled skillet and cook over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes on one side.  Flip and continue cooking until the other side has browned.  Enjoy hot.