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Spiced Chickpea Socca Pancake

This crispy spiced chickpea socca tastes deliciously sweet and nutty. The batter is simply chickpea flour, olive oil and water spiced with curry and chile and baked till crisp on the edges in a hot cast iron skillet. So good!

Chickpea Socca

Socca pancakes are super-simple to make, perfect for last-minute me, and anyone who, like me, operates on short notice. You just whisk the gluten-free bean flour, olive oil, salt, spices and plenty of freshly ground pepper with water. Bake the batter in a hot cast-iron skillet, in a very hot oven. Five minutes to mix, 10 minutes to rest, and 20 minutes to bake.

With plenty of garbanzo bean protein you can serve these crispy socca treats for dinner, paired with garlicky sautéed kale and a salty black olive tapenade. Cut into smaller wedges or squares and top with a sweet and tangy chutney, this skinny chickpea pancake can be your new gluten free appetizer.

For a sweet-savory dessert, top your spiced chickpea socca pancake with fresh fruit, compote, or jam.

Mixing chickpea socca

I’ve wanted to try my hand at socca for a long time, ever since snacking on them hot off the griddle at an outdoor market in France.

I’d bought a bag of chickpea flour and it sat in the pantry unused, for I’m not telling you how long, waiting for inspiration. I needed a kick in the socca-cooking butt!

Chickpea Socca wedges on plates next to cast iron skillet with socca

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Inspiration for this recipe comes from two of my favorite cookbooks, Gina Hamshaw’s Food52 Vegan: 60 Vegetable-Driven Recipes for Any Kitchen, and Madhur Jaffrey’s Vegetarian India. I took Gina’s basic socca recipe and spiced it like Ms. Jaffrey’s chickpea flour pancakes.

Hamshaw’s recipe says to let the batter rest 10 to 15 minutes. Jaffrey’s says rest the batter 2 hours. The resting time didn’t seem to make any difference in texture or flavor. I’ve read that soaking chickpea flour will help your body digest the beans, so if I can, I mix the batter a couple hours before I bake it.

plated Chickpea Socca on blue design plate

The cool thing is that many people don’t know about socca, so you can get the conversation going by serving the wedges with dollops of something tasty on top. Author Hamshaw’s favorite socca toppings are garlicky sautéed greens and salty olive tapenade. She also likes avocado–your favorite quacamole would be yummy.

You’ll love this crispy socca made into a gluten-free pizza crust. Partially bake the socca and finish baking with the same toppings you might put on homemade whole wheat pizza crust.

I’d heard about the legendary woman who sells chickpea socca in Nice’s outdoor market. When we were traveling in southern France, in Nice, my girlfriend and I made a point to visit the market to sample the famous socca. Needless to say, that taste memory lingers.

Crispy Chickpea Socca Pancake recipe notes:

  • Chickpea flour, also sold as garbanzo bean flour, (affiliate link) is nothing more than dried chickpeas ground into flour.
  • This socca recipe calls for a 12-inch cast iron skillet. (Affiliate link.) If your skillet is smaller, make two and pour less batter in your pan, about 1/8-inch thick.

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This post contains affiliate links. When you purchase products via my links, it doesn’t cost you anything and I earn a tiny commission, which helps me continue to provide free content here on Letty’s Kitchen. Thank you!!

6 comments

  • Sounds so good and I have never heard of socca! Reply · 18 April, 2016

    • Socca will become a “bread” you use all the time–at least it has for me Tammy, now that I finally made it! Reply · 18 April, 2016

    • Fran

      I am planning on making this tonight. I am thankful to see there are other options for gf alternative breads other than rice alternatives. I absolutely loved chickpea and have used the flour for baked goods as well as other foods. Reply · 14 June, 2022

  • I have a HUGE bag of chickpea flour I bough for a specific recipe and have been staring at the remainder ever since. I’ll give this a try. GREG Reply · 24 April, 2016

    • Thanks Greg–let me know what you think after you dig into that bag for your socca-making adventure! Reply · 25 April, 2016

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