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| I feel like you don't see a lot of *empty plates* on food blogs, and now I can really understand why. Also, what happened to the tip of that knife? (I actually know.) |
The recipes! They are so hard to post in the winter, because
I make food at dinnertime, when it’s already dark, and then the photographs
come out so bad, like this, all yellowy and glare-glossed, like a 1970’s Bonne
Belle Piece-of-Cake Lip Smacker ad. I’m sorry.
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| This is not exactly the right place to mention this fact, but I have a piece in the current issue of O magazine! The one with Oprah in a gold outfit on it. Edited to add: It's actually online here now. |
I’ve been wanting to post this one for ages, though: socca (if
you’re French), or farinata (if you’re Italian). I myself call it socca,
because I like to sing this song while I’m making it, which my friend Ali put
on a mix-tape for me in 1987.
But whatever you call it, it’s a crisp-topped and tender,
super-savory pancake, fragrant with rosemary and onions—but even fragrant
without, if you make it plain. It’s mostly just water, olive oil, and chickpea
flour, which is an ingredient that I love (try these crackers if you haven’t
yet), and that I use all the time, especially now with my family’s strict
gluten-free situation.
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| Gratuitous kitten-in-a-nightie-hammock shot. |
Love to you, my people. xo
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| Still. |
Socca
This is Mark Bittman’s recipe, more or less. I make this all
the time—to go with soups and salads, or to eat on its own or with a glass of
beer. It’s perfect for gluten-free folks, of course, but everybody likes it,
and it even offers a hit of protein thanks to the chickpea flour. Also, to be
honest, I sometimes make it without the onions and rosemary, which is even
easier (I just heat the oil in the preheated pan before adding the batter). If
you like, you can use it as the basis for a quick little pizza. Top it with
cheese and sauce before broiling, instead of, or in addition to, the olive oil,
and voila! Really good and easy.
1 cup chickpea flour
1 ½ to 2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ to 1 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup lukewarm water
4 to 6 tablespoons
olive oil (divided use)
½ large onion (or 1
small onion), thinly sliced
1 to 2 teaspoons
chopped fresh rosemary
Heat the oven to 450. Put a well-seasoned 12-inch cast-iron
skillet in oven. (You can use a glass pie plate in a pinch.)
Put the chickpea flour in a bowl with the salt and pepper.
Whisk in the water and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Cover and let sit at
room temperature while the oven heats, or for as long as 12 hours. The batter
should be about the consistency of heavy cream; thin it with a little water if
it seems too thick.
Remove the pan from the oven, 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, 6-8 minutes. Stir in the rosemary.
Stir the onions and rosemary into the batter, then immediately pour the batter
into the pan (or pour the batter on top of the onions, like you’re making an
upside-down cake). Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pancake is firm and
the edges are set. It might look cracked on top, and this is fine!
Heat the broiler and drizzle the top of the pancake with another
tablespoon or 2 of oil. 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.
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| Unless you, also, buy it at the Scratch and Dent, your chickpea flour will likely cost more than this. |
