KITCHEN ADVENTURES: I’M GONNA GIT YOU SOCCA. I decided to make these chickpea-flour pancakes because other than the flour, all their ingredients were things I always have on hand. Super simple, just flour, olive oil, water, s & p, and whatever other thing you want to use. The Atlantic food blogger says:

Socca (without the subtle, wood-smoked flavor) is easy to make in a skillet on top of the stove. The batter, which has no egg or leavening, will keep for days covered in the refrigerator, and can morph into a variety of useful preparations. I often make socca as an instant snack, standing by the stove and eating it as it comes out of the pan (it is a good way to eat beans).

Socca also makes a marvelous hors d’oeuvres. I put the large skillet with the finished socca right on the table and let guests help themselves, tearing pieces off with their fingers. It’s also a great crêpe-like base in which to wrap warmed leftover shredded long-cooked meats and stews.

Though it’s probably something of a heresy, socca batter makes great silver-dollar pancakes for a grownup breakfast; their slightly eggy flavor marries perfectly with maple syrup or jam.

Doesn’t that sound good?

So I made five medium-sized socca (socci?) with various accouterments. They were all delicious, and incredibly easy to make, so I strongly suspect there will be more socca-experimentation in my future.

First I heated the oven to 375 (you’ll probably want to set it higher–my oven gets very hot very fast) and cut a yellow onion into fat slices. I drizzled the slices with olive oil on a foiled baking tray and stuck them in the oven to get sweet and slightly browned. Then I sliced a knob-end of mozzarella I had hanging around.

Then I followed the recipe in the link. I wasn’t fussed about whisking in exactly one tablespoon of water at a time or anything, and I didn’t need to be. But keep in mind that you may need less water than the recipe calls for. I got the heavy-cream consistency with less than a cup of water, probably because my cup of flour was a bit scanty. I also spread the oil over the pan with my fingers, before the pan got really hot. I, uh, wouldn’t do that if I were cooking for people who aren’t me.

My socci took noticeably longer to cook than the recipe calls for, probably due to irregularities in both my stove burner and my pan. I needed maybe five or six minutes on the first side, and two or three after I flipped the pancakes. I took the onion out of the oven and dumped it onto a plate. After I flipped the pancakes, I laid the mozzarella slices on top of the larger socca to melt.

These first two came out moist and delicious! I topped the smaller one with some of the onion. The larger one became a sort of socca grilled-cheese sandwich, folded over the mozzarella filling.

Then I made three more: one with dried rosemary, one with cumin and dried oregano, and one with cumin, curry powder, cayenne, ground ginger, and a tiny bit of cinnamon. The smell from this one was amazing. It was also the tastiest of the second batch; the rosemary and oregano didn’t do much for the pancakes. I let the second batch cook at least a minute longer than the first, which meant that they were drier and browner but no less tasty.

I finished the meal with a glass of whole milk–the perfect accompaniment!

Verdict: This was easy and delightful. I can’t wait to try more with this batter–maybe making a thicker batter and turning it into fritters with fresh peas? Or… onion rings?? And I know I’ll be making more socca.