Riviera Pebbles Blog: Socca recipe - A famous Niçois snack

Posted on 18th Jun 2015 in Eats & Drinks

© Rosa Jackson/Les Petits Farcis

You'll often smell freshly fried socca before you spy it:served piping hot and dusted with salt and pepper, this chickpea pancake served from humble stalls and hole in the wall restaurants, is finger lickin' delicious. Typically eaten with fingers, locals usually wash this down with a glass of chilled rosé. You'll find socca served throughout Nice, but here are some of the best places to sample it:

Lou Pilha Leva (10 rue de collet, Old Town)
Chez Rene Socca (2 rue Miralheti, Massena)
Chez Pipo (13 rue Bavastro, Port)

Les Petits Farcis have kindly provided a free recipe for you to try out before you visit Nice.

Socca (serves 4)

Socca is a chickpea pancake traditionally cooked in a wood-fired oven – a direct descendant of farinata, a popular street food in Liguria, Italy. The Niçois eat it at any time of day, but it’s perfect for a late breakfast or in the early evening served with a glass of rosé. Since it's hard to replicate the heat of a wood-fired oven at home, the best way to cook it is in a very hot frying pan.

150g chickpea flour (1¼ cups, 5½ oz)

1 tea spoon fine sea salt

4 table spoon olive oil

450ml cold water (1¾ cups)

Olive oil, for frying the socca

Freshly ground pepper

Place the chickpea flour in a large bowl and add the salt and oil. Stir, then pour in the cold water a third at a time, whisking until the batter is smooth. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

When you remove the batter from the refrigerator, whisk it lightly. Heat a small non-stick frying pan over high heat. When it is very hot, add about 2 tsp olive oil and swirl it around. Pour in a small ladleful of batter and tilt the pan to coat it all over. Cook the socca for about 2 minutes, until well browned underneath, then flip it over and cook for 1 minute. Remove to a plate and repeat until you have used all the batter. Serve with freshly ground pepper.

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