Socca Flatbread

From health foods like chia seeds to goji berries to acai, kale, quinoa & so forth, various ingredients continue to gain popularity.  One that I never would have imagined to make the cut is chickpea flour a.k.a. gram flour a.k.a. besan.  Being a staple in every Indian household, I guess I used to take it for granted & never even considered using it.  Looking back, that’s probably due to the way chickpea flour is found in Indian cooking.  For example, it’s often used in deep-fried snacks (pakoras & bhujias), sweets (ladoos & halwa), gravies (khadi) and steamed snacks (dhoklas).   I’m sure I’m in the minority, but these dishes just don’t do it for me at all. 

Socca Pancakes3

While most of these dishes provide little nutrition, that’s more due to the cooking style & amount of oil used during preparation.  Chickpea flour, however, racks in some stellar benefits including:

  • More protein than wheat-based flour: ½ cup contains 10g protein compared to 6g in white flour
  • Various nutrients including manganese, iron, izinc, phosphorus , calcium, B vitamins and folate
  • 5g dietary fiber per ½ cup serving

I enjoyed it a few Sundays ago for breakfast in the form of crepes.  Between you and me, I intended to make pancakes but they turned out thinner than I hoped ;).  Crepes, pancakes- they still tasted super!  

Chickpea crepes

I’ve recently started to  embrace chickpea flour in savoury form as it’s used in France: Socca Flatbread.   From pesto to marinara sauce, guac & hummus, socca flatbread pairs well with just about anything.  Personally I love it best with hummus…chickpea overload much? Nahhh!

Socca Pancakes2

My recipe below incorporates nutritional yeast to add a cheesy flavor but if you aren’t vegan or sensitive to dairy (or if you just love the real deal), go ahead and replace it with cheese.

Socca Pancake1

Now how about that recipe: 

[yumprint-recipe id=’7′]What’s your go-to flour?

Is there any food you eat now that you once turned your nose up at? 

40 thoughts on “Socca Flatbread”

  1. Waiiiit a minute..you mean all those indian sweet meats contain chickpea flour?! Well fancy that. I’ve got a good amount of indian in my blood yet I’m a disgrace in not liking those stuff. More for the family *shrugs* ..
    I adore this recipe however. After being recently obsessed with chickpea everything..fuel to the fire? Why not 🙂 . I’m dying to know how exactly did you go about preparing -sweet- crepes?

    1. Haha apparently both of us are disgraces :)! For the sweet crepes, I just mixed 1/2 cup chickpea flour with 2 egg whites & 2 tablespoons water, cinnamon + vanilla essence. Once whisked into a lump-free batter, I made it on the skillet as I would do with normal pancakes!

  2. I went through a chickpea flour phase for a little while, haha. I made a socca pizza and some chocolate muffins that were made with chickpea flour. Kind of weird but they were both really good and I liked the nutritional value that chickpea flour adds vs. regular flour!

  3. I’m pretty sure I can classify my entire diet now as one that I would have turned my nose up at in the past. I grew up hating all veggies besides carrots, corn, and potatoes, and I wouldn’t have ever considered eating something like beans, plain yogurt, avocado, or coconut oil. Thank goodness that’s all in the past, though, because those are some of my favourite foods now!

    And I’m seriously loving this recipe. I have a bag of chickpea flour that I keep meaning to bust into, and now you’ve given me even more of a reason to do it!

  4. Good gosh, I had no clue besan and chickpea flour were one and the same! I have had besan treats and eats at friends homes – but (until today) I was thinking that chickpea flour was new to me…today I know I have been eating it pretty much all my life – what a revelation! Thanks Khushboo! 🙂
    Your chickpea socca sounds delish – love the idea of eating with hummus too! My go to “flour” has been oat flour or rather ground up old fashioned oats – by far the most budget friendly option for me!

  5. wow, what a lovely recipe. the humble besan, humble no more. 😀

    also, what is nutritional yeast? is it readily found at the grocer’s?

    nb. the chickpea flour is also an amazing face-pack, when mixed with a little yoghurt/curd or milk [for dry skin]. let’s call it the protein pack 😀

    1. Hahah hopefully your heart swells up in happiness because I can’t seem to get enough of cheese lately…I don’t even care about its effects on my stomach- WORTH IT!

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  7. Hi Khushboo –
    Great idea to use besan chillas for hummus! Can we use good old baking soda instead of the yeast, and just spread it out thinner?

    1. I don’t think baking soda will have the same effect, as the nutritional yeast is used primarily to add a cheesy flavour. If you don’t have any on hand, use grated cheese instead 🙂

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