Silverdollar Socca Recipe
Tiny socca-inspired pancakes made with buttermilk or keffir - golden, tender, and cooked in cold-pressed spicy mustard oil. Flat out delicious.
Happy Monday all. I thought I'd give you a glimpse of what things look like on this end right now. We did a shop update yesterday morning. Meaning, there has been a scramble behind the scenes - box building, pre-wrapping, description writing, shooting photos. There have also been some epic lunches, and a favorite preparation has emerged. The back story is this -- we took a couple stabs at making traditional socca, the unleavened chickpea flour crepes from Nice, with varying degrees of success over the past months. If we ever nail it, I'll post about it here. No dice as of yet. BUT, we started doing tiny socca-inspired pancakes - using whatever was in the refrigerator as the liquid in the batter - keffir, buttermilk, etc. The resulting silver dollars are golden, tender, and possibly the only thing I want to eat, ever. You can spice the batter however you like - this sesame and mustard was an instant favorite. Hot off the pan, they're completely addictive.
We spend a lot of time at this table. This was a spice morning.
A couple things related to these little guys. You can make larger crepes/pancakes, they don't necesarily need to be silver dollar-sized. The batter should run the pan beautifully whatever size you like. One tip - Let the batter set and crisp up on the bottom a bit before attempting to flip - this helps prevent sticking particularly if you aren't using non-stick.
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Silverdollar Socca
HS: You can use whatever cooking oil you prefer here, but our favorite for these is spicy (cold-pressed) mustard seed oil, if you can find it.
1 1/2 cup / 6 3/4 ounces chickpea flour
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup / 120 ml water
1 cup / 240 ml buttermilk
1/4 cup / 60 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds (optional)cold-pressed mustard seed oil, extra-virgin coconut oil, or clarified butter, for frying
Combine the chickpea flour, salt, eggs, water, buttermilk, olive oil and sesame seeds in a large bowl. Whisk until the batter is smooth. You're after a batter that is on the thin side, similar to a crepe batter. Allow it to sit for at least 15 minutes, so the chickpea flour absorbs the buttermilk, resulting in a more tender pancake. Stir again.
Heat a small splash of oil in a large skillet over medium heat, just enough to coat the pan. Add spoonfuls of batter to the pan, one tablespoon at a time. The batter will spread a bit, so be mindful not to overcrowd. Cook for approximately 1-2 minutes per side or until lightly golden with crisped edges - you'll likely be able to get 4-5 pancakes going at once. Transfer from the pan to a paper towel, blotting gently. These are best enjoyed immediately, but you can also place on an oven-proof patter in a low-heat oven while cooking the remaining pancakes. Alternately, a quick reheat in the skillet just before serving if the pancake have gone cold, brings them right back to life.
Makes about 30 tiny pancakes.
Prep time: 20 minutes - Cook time: 5 minutes
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Comments
Beautiful little soccas! I've been making socca all summer from the Saveur recipe and they've been perfect every time. It's a 1:1 ratio of flour to water with a little olive oil and salt. I cook them in a preheated cast iron skillet (not the cake pan the recipe suggests) under my broiler. I gobble them up plain, or top them like pizza. They are some kind of good kitchen magic. Thanks for sharing your delicious looking variation.
I love that you made a socca-inspired recipe! I lived for a year in Nice right after college; what a fantastic place with amazing food. I for one would be thrilled to see a pissaladiere recipe, 101 cookbooks style, too.
My meat-loving boyfriend loves socca - we make it regularly... which makes me curious as to why you don't think your's wouldn't be amazing like all of your other things? Is it the smoky greasy fastfood streetfood flair that is missing?
question: what are the ladies on your photo working on? is that something we'll be seeing at Quitokeeto?
What are those little wrap thingys in the bottom photo of your lunch spread??
This looks so incredibly good. I'm going to have to try these with your mung-bean hummus for lunch some time this week. Very excited. Definitely my dish of the day :-D Plus: you've got the best crockery.
Yum! Don't suppose you have any ideas for turning this thing vegan? :-)
Socca is one of my FAVOURITE foods! What an interesting way to twist up the traditional recipe! I love it!
I have never made (or even heard of Socca) Where have I been? ;) I love chickpea flour and the thought of using kefir as the liquid. The savory spices in these would make a perfect snack.
Looks great. How about the recipe for those fresh rolls?
The sesame seeds and mustard seeds are a great addition to this socca. I make socca quite a bit - it's easy, filling and goes with so many things. At the beginning of the year I posted a vegan socca recipe that is reliable and has a good ratio of crispy edges to soft, pliable interior. Socca do take a bit of practice, but so worth getting the hang of. Looks like you have achieved this :D. Here's the recipe if anyone is interested in a vegan take. Not as pretty as yours though.
I love socca and anything with chickpeas! I'm loving this idea of using keffir or buttermilk in the batter and also the size, so sweet! As always thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
I have no trouble with traditional Socca (I use Mark Bittman's recipe) but these look like a great choice for any number of occasions when I want something small and quick and gluten free. I am thinking I could even try sweet spices for a morning "pancake" version - I do this with traditional Socca and serve it with fruit & yogurt, but the little ones look fun,.
The idea of these little soccas is very tempting! The socca I know is simply chickpea flour in a mixture of water and olive oil – no eggs and no buttermilk or any other kind of dairy. Then it is cooked in a very hot oven on a large cast iron pan. Maybe that will help...? In David Lebowitz's "Sweet Life in Paris" there is a good recipe.
HS: Thanks Marsha -these are definitely a departure from traditional socca. But I love the tenderness the buttermilk lends :)
Most of the socca recipes I have seen (and made) were simply chickpea flour, water, salt and olive oil. I make one large pancake in a cast iron skillet, and add toppings as the pancake sets. Sage leaves, olives, fresh thyme and feta make a more traditional socca, and the last minute is spent under the broiler browning the top. I have made multiples for an appetizer course. It's festive, creative, and always a crowd pleaser.
What a great recipe! I love socca with an olive tapenade and anchovies!
I thought it was so sweet for you to include those little vials of spices in the QK package - great idea, and very thoughtful. And there are those beautiful bowls again! The one in the photo with the Medjool dates in it - that flat bottom and those straight sides - I'm in love. Thanks for another unique recipe Heidi.
HS: Hi Kendall - thanks! I think I may have pick a nested set of those up from Reliquary in Hayes Valley....pretty sure that's where they came from.
I am glad to read you had trouble making socca, too... ;-) I have been battling with them over the past months, too. It finally worked out (a very simple recipe, using only water to make the batter - 1 1/2 vol. for 1 vol. flour - , and flavouring it with cumin seeds), but I could only do it in a really good non-stick, otherwise they crumbled. Yours look really yummy, make me want to try your recipe!
HS: Yeah - there is some dryness, and textural "issues" I've yet to overcome.
Look at these cuties! I've never tasted any kind of socca so I'm really curious about them. They go straight to my to-make list.
Yum! I thought those were poppyseeds at first but I like the idea of black sesame seeds even more! Fresh spices are so delicious (and by fresh I mean not stale like most of the ones in the grocery store).
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