Niçoise Socca

📝 Ingredients

• 150 g chickpea flour
• 300 ml cold water
• 3 tbsp olive oil (2 for the batter, 1 for the tray)
• ½ tsp fine salt
• ½ tsp herbes de Provence
• 1 pinch fleur de sel (for serving)
• Freshly ground black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Rimmed baking tray (30 × 40 cm)
• Pastry brush
• Metal spatula
• Oven gloves

📖 Steps

1. Put the chickpea flour and fine salt in a mixing bowl. Gradually add the cold water, whisking constantly from the centre outwards, to avoid lumps. The batter should be very runny, thinner than pancake batter.
2. Whisk in 2 tbsp olive oil and the herbes de Provence for 30 s, then cover and leave to rest for 1 hr at room temperature (or overnight in the fridge). This resting time hydrates the flour and makes the socca soft in the middle.
3. 15 min before the end of the resting time, place a shelf in the upper third of the oven, put the rimmed tray on it and preheat to 250 °C. A scorching hot tray is the secret to a crisp base that doesn't stick.
4. Take the tray out using oven gloves and quickly brush it with 1 tbsp olive oil. Whisk the batter (the flour sinks to the bottom), pour it in all at once and tilt the tray to get a thin, even layer 3 to 4 mm thick.
5. Bake for 8 to 10 min, until the socca has set and the edges come away. Switch the oven to grill and cook for another 3 to 5 min, keeping an eye on it: the surface should blister and turn dark brown in places, without blackening.
6. Take out the tray, loosen the socca with a metal spatula (it should be crisp underneath and soft inside) and cut it into 8 irregular pieces, the Nice way.
7. Sprinkle with fleur de sel, add several good grinds of black pepper and serve immediately, piping hot, to eat with your fingers: socca loses its crispness as it cools.