Falafel Chickpea Flatbread (not) Pizza

Even though I will post a number of meat based recipes here at The Social Distant Kitchen, I am trying to eat less meat for various reasons. Though lately, with all the virus stuff, I have been indulging a little more often. It’s all about the comfort food! Normally in my regular day to day, I have been trying (I said trying!) to eat simplish, clean, plant based, whole food meals. With the occasional healthy-ish indulgence meal featuring chicken, fish, and less often, pork or beef. Let’s just say I am an aspiring flexitarian. So, with that, I am always looking for interesting plant based recipes to make to keep me interested, and mix it up a little. I happened to stumble on a recipe for a chickpea flour flatbread called Socca. I guess it really is kinda more like a pancake than a flatbread. But a “chickpea flour pancake” sounds kinda odd. It goes by other names elsewhere, but Socca itself is a specialty of southeastern French cuisine often served as a street food. It is made by mixing chickpea flour with an equal part of water and a bit of olive oil to form a loose batter. Then it's poured it into a pan to make a pancake typically 4mm thick. (1) They are very tasty on their own, but I wondered how it would be if I topped it with ingredients to make it sort of like a flatbread pizza. I had been making a flour tortilla “Greek wrap", filled with roasted red pepper hummus, red onion, red bell pepper, tomato, tzatziki and lettuce, that I really enjoy for a light lunch. I got curious how it would taste if I added the spices you would use to make falafel to the chickpea batter. Then top the bread with a ”schmear” of the roasted red pepper hummus. Sprinkle on some chopped red onion, red bell pepper, and tomato, and then drizzle the whole thing with some thinned out tzatziki. Kinda like a cold “salad” flatbread pizza. Well… Ok, it’s nothing like a pizza... but it was inspired by it. How did it come out?... Pretty feckin’ awesome if I do say so myself. It makes for a nice light meal or even as an appetizer. Below is how I all threw it together.

Ingredients:

For the Socca:

• ½ cup chickpea/garbanzo flour
• 1 tsp ground cumin. 
• A generous 3/4 tsp coriander (want just a bit less than the cumin. So somewhere like 1/2 tsp plus ¼ tsp)
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• A scant 1/8 tsp of cayenne
• A few grinds of black pepper.
• 1 tsp olive oil (plus some extra for cooking the flat bread)
• ¼ tsp of toasted sesame seed oil (optional)
• ½ cup lukewarm water.

Toppings:

• ¼ small red onion, chopped into ¼ inch pieces. (Run under cold water in a strainer to “de-flame” it. 
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped into ¼ inch pieces
• 4 - 6 grape tomatoes, quartered, and then chop the quarters to make pieces the size of the onion and bell pepper. 
• Roasted red pepper hummus
• Tzatziki. (store bought or homemade. There are plenty of recipes online. Occasionally I like to make mine with Forager brand cashew yogurt to make this vegan.)
• Chopped parsley for garnish. 

Equipment:

• 10-inch cast iron skillet
• Flat spatula
• Knife
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Whisk

Directions:

For the Socca:

1. Place the oven rack to a position about 6 inches from the broiler. Then place the cast iron pan on the rack and preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. Add the water and stir until smooth. 
4. Thoroughly mix in the olive oil and toasted sesame seed oil if you are using it.  
5. Let sit for 30 mins for the flour to absorb the water while the oven heats. 
6. Once the oven is heated, turn on the broiler and let it heat the pan for 5 mins. 
7. Using an oven mitt remove the pan from the oven.
8. Add enough olive oil to the pan to cover the whole bottom. 
9. With an oven mitt on one hand holding the pan, use the other to very quickly add the batter to the pan, swirling it with the other hand to spread out the batter. I will start to set up very quickly.
10. Place back in the oven under the broiler and bake for 5 to 8 mins. 
11. Once the top starts to darken, remove from the oven and let sit for a few seconds. Don’t worry about the “burnt” bits on the edge. That’s the best part. 
12. Carefully slide the spatula under the flat bread. If it easily releases from the pan it’s cooked through. If it does not. Place back in the oven for another min. Keep doing this until it releases. If the top is very brown, you could also put the pan on the stove over a medium high heat to finish cooking the bottom. However, you have to be careful not to burn it. 
13. Move the socca to a wire rack for a min to finish cooking.
    
    
    

Before going in the oven. 

Done!

Assembling the dish:

While the socca is still hot, cut it up or break it off into big pieces (I usually cut it in half with a pizza cutter). Spread on a layer of the roasted red pepper hummus. Top with the red onion, red bell pepper and tomato. If the tzatziki is thick, thin it with a bit of water to make it drizzle-able.  Drizzle on the tzatziki and garnish with some of the chopped parsley. Enjoy!

-Patrick

(1.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farinata