A dish that goes by many names…Farinata, socca, torta di ceci, or cecina. It is a type of thin, unleavened pancake or crêpe of chickpea flour originating in Genoa and later a typical food of the Ligurian Sea coast, from Nice to Elba island. Or in India, this same pancake is a Besan Chella or pudla. No matter where it is from, it’s possibly the simplest thing to make, but be sure to cook it on medium if you are using a cast iron pan. Otherwise, you will go from a golden brown to a solid brown ring as I have here.
All this dish requires is equal parts water to chickpea flour (1:1). I went very simple; I placed 2 cups of chickpea flour into the nutribullet then added 1 cup of water with some salt, pepper, 3 tbsp of olive oil, and rosemary. After running the mix through the blender, the mix was too thick so I added another cup of water. Depending on where you read, some people will say to let the mix sit for an hour and others say overnight. I found that if you let the mix sit in the fridge overnight it thickens nicely and the socca comes out better than if you let it sit for a few minutes to an hour.
The next step is to set your oven on broil, add some olive oil to the cast iron, and put it on the stove. Once the cast iron is hot then pour the socca mix into the cast iron. Learning from my mistake, as you see 1 or two bubbles start to form means it is time to transfer the socca to the oven. Since the oven is already at temperature, let the socca cook for 5-7 minutes then take it out. Use a spatula to flip the socca, or if you have pro-level skills do an air flip and have your friend take a picture. Then place the socca back in the oven for another 5 minutes to let the other side cook. Lastly, when you take the socca out of the oven I prefer to sprinkle some olive oil on it, and normally I would add some fresh rosemary.
And there you go, you have a nice pancake that has a crispy outside with a fluffy inside. And it goes well with a side salad, or as a dipping item.
