Farinata Socca Food

SOCCA

Steps:

• Whisk chickpea flour, salt, and pepper together in a bowl. Whisk in water and 3 tablespoons olive oil until combined and smooth. The batter will be thin and runny.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in non-stick 8 inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add 1/2 cup batter to the skillet, tilting pan to coat bottom evenly. Cook until crisp at edges and darkly golden brown on bottom, about 3 minutes. Flip socca and continue to cook until second side is browned about 2 minutes more.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool or 200º oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter and oil.

FARINATA (SOCCA OR CECINA)

Steps:

• Mix chickpea flour, salt, and spices in a mixing bowl.
• Pour in 1/2 of the water and mix well until you have a smooth thick batter.
• Stir in the remaining water and mix well.
• Add 2 tbsp of olive oil and mix again until the oil is incorporated and you have a smooth thin batter, then let it sit while your oven heats up.
• Place an iron skillet in your oven and turn it on to 475° F.
• Once your oven reaches 475° F, carefully take out the skillet, add 2 tbsp of olive oil to the bottom, and pour in your batter slowly in a circular motion to evenly coat the bottom of the pan.
• Bake at 475° for 12 minutes, then set the oven to broil and broil for an additional 5 minutes to get the top crispy.
• Take out of the oven and cut into wedges and serve immediately. (You can sprinkle it with some coarse salt and some additional herbs if you like.)

FRESH SOCCA RECIPE (FARINATA)

Steps:

• Place all ingredients in the blender. Puree until frothy. Then allow the batter to rest for at least 2 hours, but up to 6 hours.
• Preheat the broiler to 500 degrees F. Adjust the highest oven rack to 6-7 inches below the broiler and place a large round pizza pan on the rack to heat.
• When the pan is scalding hot, carefully pull out the oven rack and spray the pan thoroughly with nonstick cooking spray. (It will sizzle and cloud a little, but it's important to do this immediately before adding the batter.)
• Pour half the batter on the pizza pan in a circular motion. Using an oven mitt, quickly jiggle the pan a little to help it spread. Then close the oven door and set the timer for 3 minutes. Check after 3 minutes, and allow the socca to broil another 2-3 minutes if need. Remove when the edges are firm and black char marks form on the surface.
• Run a large flat metal spatula under the socca and move it to a cutting board. Cut into 2-inch squares and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining batter.

SOCCA (FARINATA)

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 450. Put a well-seasoned or nonstick 12-inch pizza pan or cast-iron skillet in oven. (If you have a socca pan, obviously that will work well also.)
• Put the chickpea flour in a bowl; add the salt and pepper. Slowly add 1 cup lukewarm water, whisking to eliminate lumps. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cover and let sit while the oven heats, or for as long as 12 hours. The batter should be about the consistency of heavy cream.
• Remove the pan, pour 2 tablespoons of the oil into it and swirl. Add the onions return the pan to the oven and cook, stirring once or twice, until they're well browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the rosemary. Stir the onions and rosemary into the batter, then immediately pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pancake is firm and the edges set.
• Heat the broiler and brush the top of the pancake with 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil if it looks dry. Set the pancake a few inches away from the broiler, and cook just long enough to brown it in spots. Cut it into wedges, and serve hot or warm.

HOW TO MAKE FARINATA

Steps:

• Combine garbanzo flour and water in a bowl; whisk until batter is smooth. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a plate and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours. Skim as much foam as possible from top of batter. Whisk salt, rosemary, and 3 tablespoons olive oil into batter.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
• Place a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over high heat and heat until smoking hot. Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil in skillet and swirl to coat bottom of skillet with oil. Continue to heat until oil shimmers and a wisp of smoke rises from oil.
• Quickly pour batter into hot oil; carefully transfer skillet to preheated oven.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cake is browned and crusty, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer immediately to a plate, cut into wedges, and serve hot. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper.

FARINATA (SOCCA)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 480°F or 250°C. Add chickpea flour, salt, and water to a bowl and blend with an immersion blender for 3 to 5 minutes till completely smooth. You can also use a regular blender. With a spoon, remove some of the foam from the top of the chickpea batter. We do this because the foam tends to burn in the oven.
• Add the oil to the baking sheet and spread it out evenly.You could use baking paper instead of oil on the baking sheet, but in that case, you'd have to add the oil to the batter. The thing is, a socca without oil is not going to be good.
• Gently pour the chickpea batter into the center of the pan or skillet, but first over a spoon and not pour directly into the pan. Pouring directly from the bowl into the pan will displace the oil, and the socca will stick.
• Bake at 480F (250C) for 10 minutes, then set your oven to grill mode and grill the farinata for another 10 minutes. It should be well cooked, golden and crispy on top, and soft and smooth on the bottom.
• Remove from oven, sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and serve.Farinata is best eaten hot, right out of the oven.

FARINATA WITH SAGE, OLIVES, AND ONION

Steps:

• At least 1 hour before making farinata, set a pizza stone on rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 550°F.
• Whisk together chick-pea flour and water until smooth, then whisk in salt and 2 tablespoons of oil. Let stand at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
• Cook onion with salt to taste in 1 tablespoon oil in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes, then cool.
• Put a seasoned 10-inch cast-iron round griddle on pizza stone and heat 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and add 1/2 tablespoon oil, tilting to coat evenly. Working quickly, stir batter and ladle about 7/8 cup (1 cup minus 2 tablespoons) evenly into pan (batter will sizzle and start to set almost immediately). Quickly scatter a third of the onion, olives, and sage leaves over the batter and carefully return pan to pizza stone. If using an oven with a built-in broiler, bake 12 minutes, then turn oven setting to broil for 1 to 5 minutes. If using an oven with broiler underneath, bake 15 minutes, then transfer pan to broiler for 1 to 2 minutes. Edges should be golden brown and crisp and top flecked with golden spots.
• Slide farinata onto a cutting board. Make 2 more in same manner, reheating pan 5 minutes for each successive farinata. Halve farinata and cut into strips.