Socca is street food in Nice, in the South of France. I found this recipe in the Sqirl Cookbook, “Everything I Want to Eat”. An absolute must.
Ingredients
┃ yield — 2
- 300 g zucchini
- carrots or winter squash
- peeled and coarsely grated
- Fine sea salt
- ¼ tsp cumin seeds
- ¼ tsp coriander seeds
- ¼ tsp fennel seeds
- 3 eggs
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 2tablespoons chopped fresh mint
- 3tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 50 grams chickpea flour
- Black pepper
- Pinch of ground cinnamon (use only with winter squash)
- Pinch of ground ginger (use with squash)
- 2 tbsp butter
- labneh or Greek yogurt
- 60 grams spicy salad greens
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
┃ ◕ — 1h
- Toss grated vegetable with big pinches of salt. Put it in a fine-mesh sieve and let drain, squeezing every so often so that the vegetable releases its water, for at least 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine cumin, coriander and fennel seeds in a dry skillet over medium-low heat. Toast the spices, shaking the pan often, until fragrant but not burned, about 3 minutes. Using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder, grind toasted spices to a powder.
- Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add drained vegetable, along with garlic, oregano, mint, cilantro, chickpea flour and toasted spices. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper, and mix well. If you are using winter squash, stir in cinnamon and ginger. (The pancake batter can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored, covered, in the fridge.)
- Melt butter in a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. Spoon in two ½ cupfuls of the pancake batter. Use the back of your spoon or a spatula to flatten each to ½-inch thick. Cook, rotating the skillet for even browning, until pancakes are nicely browned, about 4 minutes. Flip, then cook the second side for another few minutes. Transfer pancakes to a plate. Repeat to make 2 more pancakes, adding butter to the skillet if needed.
- Season labneh or yogurt with salt to taste. Just before serving, toss greens with lemon juice, oil and salt and pepper. Top each pancake with a dollop of labneh or yogurt and a tangle of greens.
