Sensational Socca

When is a pizza not a pizza? This is a healthy take on my favourite choice for a Friday night feast!

Socca is a chickpea flatbread that originated in Europe, however my first time trying this was in a wonderful pizza restaurant in NYC when my parents were visiting. This delicious fat free, high protein, vegan, and gluten free crust lends itself to rich sauces and crunchy toppings. I love making mini soccas and serving them with different toppings like appetizers so you never get meal envy!

For a basic socca you only need two ingredients- chickpea (garbanzo) flour and water in a 1:1 ratio. That's it- these are almost dangerously simple!

Enjoy socca with your favourite pizza topping. Here I served mine with different combinations of carrot top pesto, sieved tomato, scallions (spring onions), fresh garlic, mushrooms, grilled bell peppers, broccoli and some capers. Add some freshly torn basil before serving and you can be sure these will be devoured in moments!

Ingredients
1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
1 tsp onion powder (optional)
1/2 tsp dried kale (optional)
1/2 tsp dried herbs (optional- I uesd Mrs Dash's Table Blend)
1 1/2 cups chickpea flour
1 1/2 cups warm water

Method
Preheat the oven to 430°F/ 220°C
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, add the water, and whisk to form a batter.
You can either make mini socca by pouring the mixture into 4 round shapes on a baking tray lined with parchment (baking) paper, or 1 large socca by filling a cast iron pan or a pizza dish lined with parchment (baking) paper. If you are not oil free, I recommend greasing the parchment with a little oil to help prevent sticking, if you are oil free then the mixture will stick a little- in this case, remove from the oven, let cool for aound 3-4 minutes, and gently loosen the batter from the paper using a spatchula.
Bake at 400°F/200°C for 10-15 minutes, keeping an eye to ensure the edges do not burn, then flip the socca over and bake for 10 minutes on the other side, again keeping an eye to ensure it does not burn.
Top with your favourite veggies and bake for another 7 minutes at 400°F/ 220°C.