Indian Spiced Chickpea Flatbread {Socca}

This socca recipe produces a wonderful savory chickpea flatbread that happens to be vegan and gluten free. It's great for eating on its own or dipping into stews or curries. Thank you to USA Pulses and Pulse Canada for helping me to share this recipe with you.

Sometimes you make a recipe that garners all sorts of adoring looks from your family, with multiple requests to make it over and over again. This is one of those recipes. Honestly, I don't know what's taken me so long to make socca, a flatbread made with chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour. Not only is it very versatile, but it really couldn't be any easier to make.

In Italy, this thin flatbread is called farinata and in France it's known as socca. It could be compared to a pancake or even crepe, though it's a little thinner than a pancake and slightly thicker than a crepe.

The beauty of socca is that it takes only three ingredients to make a basic version: chickpea flour, water and olive oil. Chickpea flour can be found in many grocery stores and health food stores, online or in Indian markets (sold as besan).

When making socca, be sure to plan ahead because the batter should sit for at least two hours before cooking. You could even make the batter in the morning and cook the socca just before dinner.

If you're following a gluten-free diet, chickpea flour is a great alternative to regular flours. In fact, all pulses are gluten-free, and be used in a variety of recipes.

Do you remember when I talked about the International Year of Pulses last month when I posted my Baked Red Lentil Cakes? Pulses are a category of legumes that includes dry peas, lentils, beans and chickpeas. If you haven't already, be sure to pop over to take the Pulse Pledge. Eating pulses at least once per week has many health benefits and you'll want to check out the Pulse Pledge site for more great information and recipes.

I decided to change things up a bit and mix some spices and savory ingredients into this socca. Believe me, that was a good call! A mixture of ground coriander, cayenne and turmeric, as well as caramelized onions, tomatoes and garlic, gave the flatbread an Indian flair. In fact, this version would be perfect for dipping into a curry in place of naan bread, or serve it with a pot of Curried White Bean Soup.

Grab some chickpea flour the next time you're at the store. I promise you'll be hooked on socca from now on!

Other recipes using chickpeas and chickpea flour:

Cookin' Canuck's Vegetarian Spaghetti Squash Skillet
Cookin' Canuck's Pomegranate, Clementine, Herbed Chickpea & Arugula Salad
On the DF's Dairy-Free Savory Chickpea Pancakes
Green Healthy Cooking's Vegan Leek Quiche
Chef de Home's Mediterranean Chickpea Cucumber Salad with Shallot Dressing

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Indian Spiced Chickpea Flatbread {Socca}

Indian Spiced Chickpea Flatbread (Socca)…You will not be able to stop eating this! 100 calories and 3 Weight Watchers Freestyle SP

4.88 from 8 votes

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Course: Breads

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time: 2 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 2 Flatbreads

Calories: 99.8kcal

Author: Dara Michalski | Cookin' Canuck

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Ingredients

• 1 cup chickpea or garbanzo bean flour
• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil divided
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ medium yellow onion chopped
• ⅓ cup diced tomato
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 2 tablespoon minced cilantro

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, water, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, salt, ground coriander and turmeric.
• Cover with plastic wrap and let the mixture rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat the broiler, with the rack set 7 to 8 inches from the element.
• Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat.
• Add the onion and cook until starting to brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato and cook for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir the vegetables into the chickpea flour batter.
• Place a large (10-inch) cast iron skillet in the oven to preheat for 5 minutes.
• Using an oven mitt or potholder, carefully remove the cast iron skillet from the oven. Pour in 1 tablespoon olive oil and swirl to coat the pan.
• Pour in half of the batter and immediately swirl to coat the bottom of the pan.
• Place under the broiler and cook until the top and edges are starting to blacken and blister, 4 to 6 minutes.
• Carefully transfer the flatbread to a cutting board, cut into 8 wedges, garnish with cilantro and serve.
• Repeat with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, batter and cilantro.

Video

Notes

Weight Watchers Points: 3 (Freestyle SmartPoints), 3 (SmartPoints), 3 (Points+)

Nutrition

Serving: 0.25Flatbread (2 Wedges) | Calories: 99.8kcal | Carbohydrates: 7.9g | Protein: 2.8g | Fat: 6.4g | Saturated Fat: 0.9g | Sodium: 153.7mg | Fiber: 1.5g | Sugar: 1.6g

Tried this recipe?If you make this recipe, I'd love to see it on Instagram! Just use the hashtag #COOKINCANUCK and I'll be sure to find it.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored as part of an ambassadorship program with USA Pulses and Pulse Canada. All opinions are my own. This post contains links to my Amazon affiliate page. Any revenue made from sales through these links helps to support this blog. Thank you!