Socca with Kale and Goat Cheese
Kale is happy in our yard. I think it like the generally cool weather in our growing zone. Of course, with the weather changing, we have had our share of hot days. Kale tends get somewhat brittle when it is too hot. Anyhow, we have it in such abundance, I often freeze some. It is from that frozen kale is cobbled this Socca with Kale and Goat cheese. It has been a few busy days. Today, I fussed around with very essential pantry staples to come up with this very simple dish that served as our lunch. Kale is something I work with so much, here is a kale and potato soup, and kale and onion stir fry among others.
The Story Behind the Dish
We are doing the wind down before a vacation. This is usually how my fridge truly gets cleaned out. Other times, I kind of say that it will. We have had bouts of not feeling so well the past few weeks. I do not want to write the year off yet, but 2023 had not been one of those years with a bang. The first two months have been spent straightening out the car accident and replacing the car. Now, a little bit of anxiety around the college results.
Hence a somewhat involved brunch. It helps shake the anxiety out.
What exactly is a Socca?
A socca is a chickpea flour flatbread, called Farinata in Italy and Socca in France. It has been quite popular with all the emphasis on gluten free cooking. Chickpea flour or besan is such a pantry staple for us. This helped me find a different way to use it.
How I put this together.
What I made with this was a breakfast/brunch flatbread with a chickpea flour base. Honestly, it can be an anytime flatbread. Lunch, dinner or snack, it’s all good!
The chickpea base gets mixed and rests for about 30 minutes. This allows enough time to sauté the kale with onion and garlic. The flatbread get done of one side and is flipped. Topped with the kale and goat cheese and life is good!
A delicious way to feed the family and calm the anxious nerves.
A lovely breakfast dish, created with kale, eggs, red onion and tomatoes over a well seasoned chickpea crust.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup chickpea flour (besan)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoons chopped thyme.
- 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary.
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup water, a little more or less as needed.
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red onion thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 and 1/2 cups (about 1/2 pound) fresh or frozen kale finely chopped.
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt or to taste.
- 3 tablespoons (about 2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese.
- Smoked Paprika
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 20 grape tomatoes, or two medium sized tomato, sliced
- 3 eggs, hard boiled and sliced
- 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, salt, cumin seeds, thyme, rosemary and red pepper flakes. Add in the baking powder and enough water to make a smooth batter. The batter should be slightly thinner than your regular pancake batter. Stir in two tablespoons of the olive oil.
- Set this aside to rest for 30 minutes. You can make this batter up to one or two hours ahead.
- In a small pan, heat the tablespoon of oil, add in the onion and garlic and sauté until the onion and garlic softens and is fragrant.
- Add in the kale and stir until mixed in. Add in about 3 tablespoons of water, this allows the kale to soften and cook through. Stir in the salt and cook until the kale is wilted and the water is absorbed.
- Heat a cast iron skillet on the stove top for about 2 minutes, add in the last tablespoon of olive oil and spread until the oil is shimmering.
- Pour in the chickpea batter and allow it to cook for 3 minutes on medium heat. You should gradually see the batter settling and bubbles forming on the top.
- Gently slide a large spatula under the flatbread and carefully flip the flatbread. This part is a little tricky as it needs to be done when the batter is just set, but allowing it to cook too much burns the socca.
- Once turned, spread with the kale and the goat cheese and cook for 2 more minutes. Leave on the pan and remove from the heat. Sprinkle with the smoked paprika and the freshly ground black pepper. Serve warm.