Chickpea Dough Recipe (GF)

Dearest Pizza Tourists,

I’ve been gathering recipes for a cookbook proposal. This week I tested socca four different ways. I paired it with the most delicious umami tomato jam, Castelvetrano olives, honeycomb, and hunks of Parmigiano Reggiano. I used chickpea flour I found in a generic grocery store. It’s gluten-free by nature, and the umami tomato jam is so easy to whip up. A perfect weekend aperitivo to say the least!

In today’s newsletter:

• Socca, “the pizza of the French Riviera”, tested four ways

• Umami tomato jam recipe

• Two tremendous LA restaurants I visited this week

• Tomato products I am loving right now

The French Riviera has it's own pizza

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Jul 11

Tan legs, bitter drinks, pétanque, pastel-colored buildings where the light meets the sea. I encourage you to split your time between the coast and a small village inland in the French Alps. With a jump in the sea, or a pool to plunge in…

As I mentioned in last week’s newsletter, The French Riviera has it’s own pizza, socca is from Nice. A pancake-like chickpea batter traditionally cooked on a hot copper or cast-iron pan in a wood-fired oven.

Chickpeas arrived in the South of France from workers and tradesmen crossing from Liguria, France’s Italian border. They thrive in the Mediterranean climate, which is why socca and its Italian cousin farinata are so embedded in the region.

It’s traditionally gluten-free and one of the most satisfying things to eat straight from the pan with flaky salt and a cold glass of whatever quenches your thirst.

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My favorite recipe I tested is adapted from David Lebovitz’s Drinking French.

• 1 cup (130g) chickpea flour

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (280ml) water

• ¾ tsp sea salt

• ⅛ tsp ground cumin

• 2½ tbsp olive oil, divided

• Freshly ground black pepper, flaky salt, and olive oil to finish

Mix together the flour, water, salt, cumin, and 1½ tablespoons of the olive oil. Cover and let the batter rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours.

TESTING TESTING TESTING

• Give the batter enough time to hydrate and ferment.

• Make sure the pan and oil are HOT.

• If you are going to turn this into a GF dough, bake the disc completely then top with ingredients. I would go light on high-moisture ingredients that will soften the base. You could also top it after with my tomato jam and fresh cheese.

I picked up some sun-dried tomatoes at a farmers market in the Côte d’Azur. I always gravitate towards these as a souvenir or edible “trinket”. Buy some quality ones from an artisan bodega or search your local farmers market.

• 1 cup quality sun-dried tomatoes