Crispy Socca with Pear and Arugula Salad
31 Comments
Updated Feb 29, 2020
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This nutty, herby and naturally gluten-free socca recipe is made from chickpea flour. Warm from the oven, it’s topped with a pear, arugula and parmesan salad.
I woke up feeling energized yesterday (amazing what a good night’s sleep can do), so decided to whip up two new recipes and photograph them. My morning started off strong, working on a cucumber melon gazpacho (coming your way later this week)…while the afternoon was filled with this beauty, a crispy socca topped with a pear and arugula salad. But I’ll be honest, by the end of the day I was pooped!
All the back-and-forth between the kitchen to where I photograph my recipes (on the far end of the house and down two flights of stairs in the basement) had me feeling like I’d just run a marathon and climbed the Empire State Building! Especially when I’d forget ingredients or props and have to quickly run back up the stairs, across the house, grab the item and run back down again. Oh yes, now I remember why I usually only do one recipe in a day. Ha! The good news is that I slept well again last night, got the equivalent of a cardio-intense, stair-master workout AND have leftovers of both recipes to enjoy throughout the week.
What is Socca?
If you’ve never had socca before, you’re in for a treat. So what is it? It’s a naturally gluten-free crepe/flatbread (depending on how thick you make it) made from chickpea flour. It’s popular in the Provence region of France and frequently eaten as street food, served up warm and smelling all kinds of delicious and nutty.
Socca Ingredients
I love socca as it’s literally only 3-ingredients – chickpea flour, water, oil – plus any flavor additions like herbs and spices. You can make it thin and crispy (as this recipe is today) or thicker like a traditional flatbread. I like it thin when I top it with salads and thicker when I make it more pizza-like with cheese, meat and heartier toppings.
I’ve talked about the health benefits of chickpeas before as well as the importance of not getting stuck in a food rut. I mention these items again as I believe it’s super important to always switch up your ingredients, particularly when it comes to gluten-free flours. If you notice on this blog, I’ll frequently switch between cassava flour, almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, chickpea flour, rice flour and other gluten-free flours, depending on the recipe (pancakes, tortillas, etc). Not only does it keep things interesting from a flavor-profile, but if you’re anything like me, it keeps a sensitive gut happy!
The topping on this crispy socca is a super easy pear, arugula and parmesan salad, which is perfect for summer. But feel free to use any salad ingredients you have on hand (in other words, use up all the seasonal leftovers you’ve got in your fridge!).
Enjoy!
Crispy Socca Recipe
Description
Ingredients
Socca
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour, also known as garbanzo bean flour or besan flour
- 1/2 cup water, plus extra for thinning if needed
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- pepper, to taste
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced (approx 1/4 cup)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
Salad
- 1 pear, thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup arugula, loosely packed
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- shaved parmesan
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees fahrenheit. Place an empty 10-inch cast iron pan into the oven and heat for 10 minutes.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, water, salt and pepper, removing all clumps and forming a thin batter. Set aside.
- In a small sauté pan heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot and sauté for one minute, until translucent.
- Pour the entire contents of the pan (garlic, shallot and oil) into the batter and whisk again.
- Wearing oven mitts, carefully remove the cast-iron pan from the oven. Swirl 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil into the pan, coating the bottom, then pour the socca batter into the pan, swirling until the batter reaches the edges of the pan. Place the pan back in the oven and cook for 12 minutes, until golden.
- While the batter is cooking, make the salad by gently tossing the pear, arugula, olive oil and lemon juice together in a bowl.
- Carefully remove the socca from the oven and use a spatula to transfer it to a paper towel to blot dry. Place the socca on a plate and top with the salad, shaved parmesan, salt and pepper.
Nutrition
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Hello Lisa,
This socca and salad recipe looks delicious and I would like to serve it to my bookclub of 10. Do you have any advice for making the socca ahead of time? I will also be serving your falafel which I make frequenly. I can’t get enough of it!! Thank you
Unfortunately, socca is best served warm right out of the oven. So it might not be the best choice for that. But I have lots of other recipes for you to choose from! :)
I loved the combination of the salad with the socca. Brilliant combo. I actually used a socca recipe I have already made but added the garlic and green onions (I had no shallots) from your recipe. That socca recipe was double the flour and water amounts and I used 1/2 of the finished socca, so probably just thicker. I was generous with the arugala and therefore increased the dressing amounts and used grated parmesan. Your combination idea was lovely. Thank you.
Wow! Is this ever delicious. Has a really nice crispy bite to it too. So fresh just excellent for a spring or summer dish for company!
I have never even heard of socca but made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! Thank you, Lisa!
Hi Lisa,
Can I make this with almond flour too? I’ve had a lot of luck using almond flour for pizza crust.
Hi Susan – socca is always made with chickpea flour. I’m sure you could make something similar with almond flour and maybe a few other ingredients to bind it, but it wouldn’t be socca. :)
This was amazing! After trying other socca recipes I found elsewhere that were just okay, I came across this and had to try it since I had everything on hand. WOW! This one is a keeper.
Happy to hear your socca turned out perfectly Lindsay!
I love this recipe. The salad is delicious and so simple. Thank you! However, the bread did not turn out crispy. I used 1/2 cup of water. Should I add more next time? If so, how much?
Thank you.
Hi Kelly – the amount of water should have been fine. It might be that your oven just bakes slightly cooler (all ovens are different are rarely accurate). Also make sure that the pan is piping hot when you add the mixture. :)
Hi Lisa, I’m a bit confused with the recipe. Just to clarify this makes one Socca that you then cut into 4 slices? I’m trying the recipe out now and if I love it I plan to make more. How long does this keep in the fridge. Is it freezer friendly? Thank you for your help! 😊
Hi Meggie – yes, it’s one socca. You can keep this in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for several months. Enjoy!
Thank you for such an easy recipe. I have found throughout your website that most of the ingredients you use are similar so if you buy once chickpea flour you can do multitude of things with it and all from Lisa!!! So happy about this tortilla! Very tasty and crunchy :)
That’s the Downshiftology way :) I always love to buy bulk in ingredients and utilize them to make multiple recipes!
This. This was amazing! I am trying to make healthier choices right now and this recipe helped make it happen today! I had roasted zucchini, onions, And mushrooms left over in my fridge with some arugula bouncing around in my fridge. I made this socca- add a bit of rosemary and thyme in the garlic and onion mixture and it blew my socks off. I made a platter of the roasted veggies, the socca, arugula, and some feta cheese. I assembled little pizzas out of my platter ingredients and devoured each morsel. Delicious! Thank you for sharing and the running around.
Hi Erin- So glad you enjoyed this socca recipe!I hope to do more socca recipes in the neat future so stay tuned :)
Thanks for the healthy ideas and creativity.
Hi Susan – happy you love my website! I haven’t tried this recipe with cassava flour, but I suspect the differences in flour texture would make it turn out differently. Not necessarily bad, just different. With the cassava version more like a thick tortilla rather than a flatbread. If you try it, let me know what you think! :)
I made this for dinner last night – delicious. Living overseas, I often don’t have access to items so I have to improvise. I made my own chickpea flour by grinding dry chickpeas in the blender and sifting – worked like a charm. Also, the servings said 4 pieces – I wasn’t sure just how many this would feed so, I doubled the recipe (2 adults). This dish is very filling (served with soup). I had a whole Socca leftover for lunch today!
Great job improvising Maggie! And yes, it is quite filling. I did the same thing first time around and accidentally made too much! But a leftover socca is never a bad thing either. ;) So glad you liked it!
Hi! I just joined and am so happy I did! Made this for dinner last night (subbed Brie for the Parmesan) and it was delicious! Just a note: I wasn’t sure how many servings the 4 slices added up to so I doubled the recipe – definitely too much for two adults with a bowl of soup. Makes great left-overs :)
OMG Lisa! Best. Socca. Eva. I have tried my hand 3 or 4 times, but this recipe knocked my socks off! Thank you!!!!
Cheers,
Maureen
That makes me so happy to hear! Glad you loved it Maureen! :) x
Might just have to have it again tonight!!! ;-)
This looks absolutely delicious, Lisa. I’m also laughing because I have a similar photography situation at my house, and if I forget a prop or an ingredient, it’s a workout just to stop what I’m doing and get it. Here’s to more fulfilling and rejuvenating sleep. I’m desperately in need of several night’s worth of it!
At least it’s a way to burn off all that we eat along the way, right?! Haha. And yes, to more rejuvenating sleep – hope you catch up on yours as well! :) x
Now I need to hunt for the chickpea flour! It seems like my local bulk food store has it, which saves me a lot of trouble. The rest should be fairly easy. I got the ingredients for the cucumber watermelon salad right away but haven’t made it yet…maybe I’ll use my friends as Guinea pigs this weekend.
Wonderful – it sounds like you’re set! And your friends are some very lucky guinea pigs. ;) x
I selfishly am happy that you had a creative recipe spark and shared this! LOVE the ingredient combination; and I do hope you’re able to continue resting up now – you deserve it! xx
Me too – ’cause I’m loving this socca! It was worth all the running around for (and I got to enjoy those leftovers today). ;) x