Recipe: La socca

Name: La socca
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 baking sheet 60 cm long; 25 cl (1.1 cups) of water; 130 g (4.5 oz) of chickpea flour; 1 large tablespoon of olive oil; 3 g of fine salt.

By chef patrick Asfaux 5/5 (22 reviews) · 🍳 8 made it

Prep 10 min

Cook 10 min

Total 20 min

here is the recipe for Socca. it is a golden crepe that can be found at any time in the cafes of Nice. traditionally, it is the morning snack of workers

Baked at 280°C on a sheet pan, it puffs in minutes and blisters across the top, prick them with a knife to stop them bursting. Chickpea flour gives it real nuttiness, slightly bitter, nothing like white flour. Fresh ground pepper straight from the oven is essential. Perfect for aperitifs when the weather turns nice.

Ingredients

1 baking sheet 60 cm long
25 cl (1.1 cups) of water
130 g (4.5 oz) of chickpea flour
1 large tablespoon of olive oil
3 g of fine salt.

Step-by-step directions

1 Preheat the oven to 280°(th 9)

2 In a large bowl, put the sifted flour. make a small well in the center, add the salt and water then mix well to avoid lumps. strain through a fine sieve.

3 Oil the sheet well, spread your batter over the entire surface, it should be about 1/2 cm thick.

4 Put in the oven when you see blisters appear, pierce them with the tip of a knife. after about ten minutes the batter will be well golden.

5 Remove the Socca and immediately give it a good grind of pepper and cut hot with a bread knife or pizza wheel into small squares 3 to 4 cm on each side.

And if you can also cook it in a bread oven then bliss will not be far away!

Chef's tip

Socca is basically street food from Nice, sold by small vendors cooking it over wood fire. But you only need a home oven to nail it, and it takes under 20 minutes start to finish. Sure, it tastes different in a proper wood-fired oven with steady heat, but that's optional. You can make it year-round, but it shines when the sun comes back. April, May, June is the sweet spot. Serve it warm, cut into squares, just salt and fresh ground pepper. Eat with your hands, standing up if you can, glass of white wine in hand. A Vermentino from Corsica or a dry white from Nice if you can find it. Historically it was breakfast for dock workers, cheap, quick, filling. Now it's become an aperitif, but it stays unpretentious. Not fancy, just something that works and doesn't waste ingredients. For sides, you don't need much. Summer tomato and onion salad, or just black olives with fresh fennel. Dry white wine pairs easily. Make it at the last minute before guests arrive, it needs to be eaten hot, almost burning.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a different flour instead of chickpea flour?

Not really. Chickpea flour gives the nutty, slightly bitter taste that defines socca. White flour or cornstarch would be a different dish entirely. The chickpea is essential.

Why doesn't my socca puff up or stays too flat?

Two culprits: lumps in the batter (sieve it through fine mesh every time) or your oven isn't hot enough (280°C minimum, check with a thermometer). Don't make it thicker than 5 mm either.

Can I make the batter ahead of time?

Yes, but max one hour in the fridge. Beyond that it ferments. Better to mix it 20 minutes before baking. Unlike other batters, it doesn't need long resting time.