Socca is a flatbread that's made with chickpea flour, water, and oil. Does that sound easy? Oh good, because it is! I discovered socca when I did an elimination diet a few months ago. I wanted to see if my eczema was triggered by food sensitivities; fortunately, it's not, but going without wheat for a while made me realize just how much I eat it.
I have no intention of going gluten-free since I can eat it without any issues, but I'm a big believer in balancing the foods you eat and having variety in your diet, so I decided to try to find alternatives to some of the wheat-based foods I was eating on a regular basis. Case in point: this recipe was going to be a pizza on a wheat crust, but instead, I put the sautéed chard on a socca.
Making a socca requires a little bit of planning because the batter needs to sit for a bit in order for the water to absorb into the chickpea flour. You can let it rest for 30 minutes to 2 hours; I usually go with 30 minutes because I'm impatient. While the batter is sitting, you can prep the chard and sauté it. I always use the stems when I make Swiss chard-if you prefer, you can discard them, but you're missing out! They add a little bit of color to this dish and when you slice them into small pieces and cook them, they're tender and delicious.
Chard can be a little bit bitter, so adding golden raisins to this recipe helps balance that out. Pile the chard onto the socca, sprinkle it with cheese and a drizzle of olive oil, and use a pizza cutter to slice it into pieces. This recipe makes a delicious appetizer for a casual get-together, but it works as a weeknight meal too.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
Socca
- 1 cup chickpea flour
- 1 cup water
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil + additional oil for cooking
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 clove garlic, minced
Sautéed Chard
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 8-ounce bunch rainbow chard, stems sliced and leaves chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
- olive oil, for drizzling (if desired)
Instructions
Socca
- Whisk together the chickpea flour, water, 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and garlic in a medium bowl. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes.
- When the batter is almost ready, pre-heat the broiler of your oven. Place a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or pie tin in the oven once the broiler is heated. Let the skillet warm up for 5 minutes, then remove it from the oven and pour a little oil in it, swirling to coat. (It's important to make sure it's completely coated, or your socca will stick to the pan!) Pour the socca batter into the skillet and return it to the oven.
- Bake the socca until it's beginning to blister on the top and the edges are crispy. Depending on your broiler, this could take anywhere between 5-10 minutes, so keep an eye on it. If it begins to brown before the center is set, move the skillet to a lower rack.
- Use a spatula to loosen the socca from the skillet and carefully transfer it to a cutting board.
Sautéed Chard
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; add the olive oil and swirl to coat. Add the chard stems and garlic slices to the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes, until softened. Stir in the chard and cook until wilted, 2-3 minutes more. Add the raisins, pine nuts, and vinegar to the skillet and cook for a minute more, then remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Top the prepared socca with the sautéed chard and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Drizzle the socca with extra-virgin olive oil, if desired. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.
Skye says
Congratulations! Very well deserved! 🙂
PS Socca sounds delicious - I am a big fan of chickpea everything!
Kiersten Frase says
Thank you! Yes, I will gladly eat chickpeas with everything too. 🙂
Kelli @ The Corner Kitchen says
Hooray....huge congrats on the BHG award....so well deserved! I've cooked with chickpea flour a few times, although I've never heard of socca. I'm excited to give it a try. Also, rainbow chard is the prettiest 🙂
Kiersten Frase says
Thank you! You definitely need to try socca. It's so simple, but so tasty too!
Emma says
Congrats on the award! Great news.
Love the Sicilian thing you've got going on here with the chard, pine nuts and raisins. I make a vegan lasagna with those ingredients which I love, and socca is always a winner for me.
Kiersten Frase says
That lasagna sounds delicious! I love that combination of ingredients too--it's great tossed with pasta. 🙂
Ashley says
Congrats on the BHG award Kiersten! That's awesome! I've been buying chard like it's going out of style lately - this sounds delicious!
Kiersten Frase says
Thank you! I love chard too--sometimes I forget about it because it gets a little over-shadowed by my love for kale. 🙂
dishing up the dirt says
Woohoo!!! Congrats. What exciting news!! We just seeded thousands of chard seeds and I can't wait to cook this when they pop up!!!
Kiersten Frase says
Thank you! I am jealous of your chard. That is one thing that I could never manage to grow in my garden!
Samantha @FerraroKitchen says
Yay congrats!!! I just started reading your blog and am newly obsessed so very well deserved!!
PS....is it politically incorrect to say socca 3 times fast? lol
Kiersten Frase says
Ha! My husband is full of all kinds of "I'm gonna get you, socca" and "socca to me" jokes. 🙂
Maria Tadic says
Congrats on winning! I love all your recipes, so I'm not surprised!!
And I love socca! I've only made it once, but I loved it. Will definitely try your recipe for sure. I'm not the biggest fan of 100% chickpea flour. Can I sub in half regular or whole wheat flour?
Kiersten Frase says
Thank you! And I've never tried making it with regular or whole wheat flour, so I'm not sure how that would work...
Meg van der Kruik says
Agghhhhhhhhhh!!!! I am so stinkin' excited for you! Nothing that I ever vote for wins so I am taking this as a personal victory too;) Can we share a slice of socca in celebration?!
Kiersten Frase says
Socca for everyone! Thanks for voting. 😉
Kaitlin @ The Garden Grazer says
Ummm... confession. Apparently I've been making socca the past couple weeks and didn't even know it. My husband and I have been experimenting with (and loving) chickpea flour pizza crust lately. I laughed when I came to your post, wondering what this "socca" is you speak of and AHA! Nice to know it has an official name (you know, other than chickpea flour pizza crust). Thanks for enlightening me 🙂 A big congrats on your award!! Very well deserved.
Kiersten Frase says
That is so funny! I've had that happen a few times, where I thought I made up something, and then I found out that--oh, this is a thing that exists, with a name and everything. 🙂
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health says
congrats dear 🙂 so happy for you. I have seen socca in couple other places and reminds me of my moms pancake..I will have to try them once I am done with whole30.
Kiersten Frase says
Thank you, Dixya! If you try it, let me know what you think. 🙂
Joanne says
I have no desire to go GF (and thankfully I don't have to), but I do love me some socca! Not only is it fun to say, but it's fun to eat. I love that you used it as a pizza replacement!
Kiersten Frase says
Yeah, I think a lot of people go gluten-free because of the mistaken assumption that it's healthier. Which it is--if you're gluten-intolerant. 🙂 I'm very glad I'm not!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
Congrats on the BHG win! These flatbreads look delish!
Kiersten Frase says
Thanks, Laura!
Kathryn says
Congratulations on the award - so well deserved! You always have such interesting + varied recipes and really have changed the way I think about vegetarian food.
Kiersten Frase says
Thank you so much, Kathryn!
Grace @ FoodFitnessFreshAir says
Congrats! That's so exciting! And you're totally meant to be there.
My friend's been making a lot of socca lately, and I've been meaning to try it. It seems so easy!
Kiersten Frase says
Definitely give it a try! It's much easier than I thought it would be. 🙂
Julia Mueller says
YAAAAAY Best Blog EVER award!! You so very much deserve this and now it's time to celebrate!!!
Socca! I had never heard of it before, and am so happy to meet its acquaintance because guess what has been sitting un-used in my freezer for 2 years? Chickpea flour!! LOVE, LOVE the sauteed chard and all the goodness involved in this slice of chickpea heaven!
Kiersten Frase says
Okay, you really need to make socca immediately because you will LOVE it. When I make them, I just buy whatever veggies look good, sauté them, and pile them onto the socca with a little cheese. So easy! So good!
Angie (@angiesrecipess) says
Congrats on winning, Kiersten.
Your socca with sauteed greens and hard cheese looks divine!
Kiersten Frase says
Thank you, Angie! 🙂
EA-The Spicy RD says
I've made socca once, and it was good, but not great, so I've been wanting to try it again-this looks like a fabulous place to start! Huge congrats on your award, and very much deserved 🙂
Kiersten Frase says
Thank you! I think on its own, it's could be a little bit boring, so I usually pair it with flavorful toppings like in this recipe or mix additional ingredients into the batter (this kalamata olive & herb version is really good: http://tasty-yummies.com/2012/04/13/kalamata-olive-and-herb-socca-with-roasted-vegetables-gluten-free-vegan/).
Holly says
Fantastic news about the BHG award-- congrats on the well-deserved recognition!!
So often your recipes are very well-timed for me. Just now I was thinking of how I could plan ahead to make my lunches gluten free (thinking that I could try gluten free for one meal a day first then push it into my whole day) and here you are with a great idea I've never heard of-- socca. Hooray!!
Kiersten Frase says
Socca would make a great lunch! You could cut it into wedges and have it with a salad or roasted veggies. The Kitchn post I linked to said that socca is best eaten right away, but I've had leftovers many times and it's still good. 🙂
Dee Sewell says
Congratulations and well deserved! Your chard recipe looks devine. I'm often asked how to cook chard in the gardens I work with and my usual response is in curries, stews or steamed but I'll definitely give this a go, thanks for sharing 🙂
Kiersten Frase says
I think sautéing is my favorite way to prepare chard. I've used it on sandwiches, on pizza, in pasta--there are so many things you can do with it! 🙂
Erika says
Woohoo congrats Kiersten!! Very well-deserved in my opinion 🙂 I have a giant sack of chickpea flour that I need to use up so this is perfect! I need to eat socca way more often!
Kiersten Frase says
Socca is THE perfect way to use up chickpea flour. 🙂 Unless I'm making a recipe that calls for it, I don't really know what to do with chickpea flour, so socca is always my go-to.
Genevieve says
I need to give socca another try! The last time I tried to make it (which was quite awhile ago), it didn't turn out quite how I expected...I imagine it's one of those things that takes a bit of practice to get just right. I love the flavour of chickpea flour though, and how it can be a base for any toppings you like - I'm liking the addition of golden raisins to yours!
Kiersten Frase says
Well, if you like chickpea flour, I'd think you'd like socca too--maybe it was a bad recipe?! The one from The Kitchn, which I use here, hasn't failed me yet. 🙂
Julia | JuliasAlbum.com says
Wow, congrats on your win - winning at BHG is quite an accomplishment which you 100% deserve!
Kiersten Frase says
Thank you, Julia! 🙂 I am really excited about it!
Shirley says
I love chard with raisins, and pine nuts sounds even better. I didn't know what a socca was, but now I want one. Also, congrats! I think you just talked me into picking up reading BHG again. I used to turn my nose up at their recipes (cream of mushroom soup and a box of mashed potatoes?), but they seem to have gotten some really great food bloggers on board.
Kiersten Frase says
Yes, you need to make socca! I am making it my mission to spread the word about socca. 🙂
Laura says
Congrats on your win. Well deserved!
Just wondering if this is actually 4 - 6 servings. I don't think it would fill me up to eat one slice for an entire meal.
Kiersten Frase says
It serves 6 as an appetizer; for a meal, it's 4. It's more of a main dish than an entree on its own, so I'd pair it with a salad or soup.
Allyne says
Mmm, tried this tonight and it was really good! Even my two year old ate it and kept saying "socca!"
Kiersten Frase says
I'm glad to hear it was a hit! 🙂