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Weight LossZucchini Socca with Tasty Yummies
September 11, 2012 By
Leanne Vogel
December 17, 2018
The last time that Beth from Tasty Yummies visited, she shared a gluten-free and vegan lentil “meat”loaf that wowed us all. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made this loaf since – for dinner parties, potlucks, or on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The recipe is just that good that you can’t not make it over, and over, and over again.
I have no doubt that with Beth’s skills in developing crowd-pleasing gluten-free and vegan, recipes that this zucchini socca will be a thing of dreams. Enjoy!
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Hi guys! Beth from Tasty Yummies here! I have been blogging at Tasty Yummies for over 2 years now, where I feature clean, gluten-free, seasonal recipes, most of which are also vegan.
I am so happy to be back here on Healthful Pursuit again, sharing a recipe with you guys while Leanne and Kevin make the big trip to Montreal. I am so happy for them and the new journey that lies ahead and I cannot wait to follow along! What a pleasure to not only be sharing one of my recipes on a blog that I admire so much, but to also be among so many other wonderful guest bloggers who I also follow and love, so thank you Leanne and thank you guys for reading!
I decided to share a recipe that would be perfect way to use some of those last of the season zucchini, whether from your own garden, your neighbors or maybe like me, your CSA share. Zucchini is my absolute favorite vegetable and I love coming up with creative uses for it every year. This year I even made zucchini chocolate chip cookies with some of the abundance of zucchini.
Socca, if you haven’t yet had one, will definitely become a new obsession after you make your first one. Socca, also known as farinata or cecina, is a sort of thin, unleavened pancake or crêpe of chickpea flour. Served hot and crispy, this chickpea pancake is a quintessential street food found in Nice, France. Many times it is browned or even blackened around the edges, and it has an almost custard like, tender inside. From what I have read, traditionally it is made in a cast iron pan over hot coals or a fire, but it can certainly be made at home in a hot oven, either in a cast iron pan, cake pans or a pizza pan.
I have made it the traditional way with chickpea flour and I have also made it with a blend of chickpea and fava bean flour. Both ways are delicious. Socca can be made with any extra add ins, topped with whatever you would like, or just simply as is. It is so versatile, I bet you could even make a sweet dessert type socca! It is great just cut into wedges as a simple and easy to eat appetizer or it can also be served almost like a pizza, as a meal. Not too long ago I shared a recipe for a Kalamata Olive and Herb Socca with Roasted Vegetables that I served as a simple lunch for myself and my hubby!
This socca features shredded zucchini inside which provides a nice bit of color and flavor, but I also added in some fresh basil and some red pepper flakes and topped it all off with caramelized onions, one of my favorites! There is a wonderful crispiness to the outside and a nice creamy and delectable inside.
Thanks again for having me Leanne and safe travels to you, Kevin, Lexy and Pebbles!
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- 1 cup chickpea flour
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (you can use less if you don't like spicy food)
- 3 tablespoons fresh basil, roughly chopped
- 1 cup (tightly packed), shredded zucchini (make sure to squeeze out all of the excess moisture)
- 4 to 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, optional
- Sift the chickpea flour into a medium-sized bowl, add in the salt and red pepper flakes, then slowly pour in 1 cup of lukewarm water. Whisk well to eliminate lumps. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cover, and let sit while oven heats, I like to leave it sit a few hours (you can leave it as long as 12 hours). Batter should be somewhat thin, much like a crepe batter or heavy cream.
- While the batter rests, make your caramelized onions. Coat the bottom of a large pan with olive oil, or a mixture of olive oil and butter, if you wish. Heat the pan over a medium high heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the onion slices and give them a good stir to coat them all with the oil, sprinkle them with salt. Spread the onions out evenly over the pan and let cook, stirring occasionally. You may want to drop the heat to keep them from drying out. Let them cook another 20-30 minutes, stirring every few minutes, while your batter rests and even while the socca is cooking, you can literally cook them up until you need them.
- Once the batter has rested at least 30 minutes and the onions are close to being ready, add the shredded zucchini and fresh basil to the socca batter, mix well to combine.
- Heat oven to 500ºF and place a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet in oven while it preheats (you can also use a nonstick 12-inch pizza pan or 2 cake pans, etc). Remove the skillet when the oven is to temperature, add about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil swirl around in the pan to get a nice even coating all the way around and up the sides a bit. Return to pans the oven for a couple of minutes to heat up the oil.
- Once the oil is heated up, carefully remove the hot pan from the oven and pour your batter in slowly. Bake 10-15 minutes until the socca is firm and the edges are set. Heat your broiler to a medium-high heat, evenly distribute the caramelized onions over the surface of the socca. Broil for an additional 3-5 minutes, until the top gets some nicely browned spots. Cut it into wedges, and serve hot.
This entry was tagged: chickpea flour, onion, socca, zucchini
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Hi! I'm Leanne (RHN FBCS)
a Functional Medicine Practitioner, host of the Healthful Pursuit Podcast, and best-selling author of The Keto Diet & Keto for Women. I want to live in a world where every woman has access to knowledge to better her health.
