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Sabtu, 18 Oktober 2014

SOCCA

You know those times when you read, hear, or see something that intrigues you enough to have it on your mind constantly. You start seeing what ever that thing is everywhere, like its been right in front of you this whole time and you wonder why you never noticed it before. This happens to me all the time. Most recently it happened in the form of socca.

Socca, if you are unfamiliar, is a sort of flat bread made from chickpea flour that comes from France, more specifically Nice, where it's served as street food. Traditionally it's cooked in a large cast iron skillet over a super hot wood-fire to achieve a crispy, blistered crust. Although you can make it in your home oven at a very high heat, it will be hard to get the same effect, but that might also be one of the effects traveling has on you. If I ever find myself in Nice this will be one of the first foods on my list to try.

It's important to let the chickpea flour and water mixture soak for at least 2 hours, preferably more. A couple glugs of olive oil, some salt, and a big pinch of cumin and you have socca in it's most basic form. You can get fancy with extras like herbs and onions, either way it's not hard to make and will ultimately give back more then the effort it took to make.

I've made this several times and have a few of my own tips. The first time I set my oven at 450˚F, but made only two pancakes and each was a bit thicker. If you want to serve these with heavier toppings, more like a pizza, I would suggest doing it this way. The second time, I heated my broiler. I'm not sure if my cast iron skillet was to hot or what because the socca stuck to it like mad. Still tasted great, but was a bit of a visual mess. Now when I make it, I keep the oven set to 475˚F, make sure my cast iron gets heated up inside the preheating oven and depending on if I want thinner or thicker socca I divide the batter accordingly.

Another trick for those of you who are hesitant to buy a bag of chickpea flour that you may only use once or if it's not available in your area, you can buy 2 cups of dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans) and blend them in a high speed blender. The chickpeas will start breaking up and become flour-like. Once it's blended down quite a bit, sift it through a fine or medium-fine sieve to remove any large bits. You can either re-blend what's sifted out or discard. Now you have a fresh batch of chickpea flour costing you only pennies.

I also wanted to say how much I loved reading everyone's sunshine memories. I'm thinking that its what helped to keep the sun out around here this whole week! And a big congrats to Rachel of Taming the Heart who is the winner of our Sunshine poster! Thank you everyone and have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Socca

adapted from David Lebovitz via The Sweet Life In Paris

makes 3 9-inch pancakes

1 cup chickpea flour

1 1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

In a medium bowl mix together the chickpea flour, water, salt, cumin and 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil. I used a 4 cup liquid measuring bowl for easy pouring. Let this mixture sit, covered at room temperature, for at least 2 hours, but preferably 4 or more.

When you're ready to cook, place a well seasoned cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat to 475˚F.

When the oven is ready and your pan is super hot, drizzle a bit of olive oil if needed then pour a 1/3 of the batter into the pan, starting from the center. Swirl it around quickly to cover the bottom and put it back in the oven.

Bake until the socca is firm and just beginning to burn around the edges. Mine took about 12-14 minutes, but it could vary depending on your oven, so I recommend watching it closer after the 10 minute mark.

Slide the socca out of the pan, onto a cutting board. You can either slice into pieces or serve whole with your choice of toppings, pizza style.

Repeat with the remaining batter, adding additional oil to the pan if needed.

Curried Lentil Soup

Curry was never a staple in our home when I was growing up. I don't think I even had my first bite of curry or eastern European food food until my late high school or early collage years. But once I did, it became a favorite when dining out. Such an array of different spices I'd never tasted before, it was like a whole new food group opened up to me.

I say when dining out because early in my cooking days when I'd come to a recipe that had a very long list of ingredients it would usually get passed up for something simpler. It never occurred to me that that long list of ingredients was mostly made up of spices and for the most part was probably something relatively easy to make.

This is where making your own homemade curry powder or spice mix comes into great use. You can save a great deal of time mixing all those spices together in one go, rather than for just one meal. You also have a greater advantage over flavor preference. The curry recipe I've provided below is a pretty simple one using many of the spices I already have on hand most of the time. You can change it to be more spicy or add in cinnamon or fennel for another version. It's really all up to you, which is what I love.

Using whole spices and grinding them in a spice mill ensures the freshness of your spices. I used mostly pre-ground below, make adjustments as needed if you use them in their whole form. The most interesting part of this soup was the addition of pureed chickpeas, almost like a very basic hummus. It made the soup feel heartier and fuller, without the addition of cream. I gave each bowl an extra good squeeze of lemon before serving, I love the way lemons add that perfect twist to lentils and spices.

Curried Lentil Soup

adapted from Bon Appétit

serves 4

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, finely chopped

2 large garlic cloves, chopped, divided

2 tablespoons curry powder (recipe below)

1 cup French green lentils

4 1/4 cups water, divided

2 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 15oz. can drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

4 green onions, thinly sliced

additional lemon for serving, optional

Homemade Curry Powder

makes about 1/4 cup

2 tablespoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons coriander

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon whole mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

In a spice mill or food processor, combine all the spices. Process until everything becomes a fine powder. Store in a tightly covered container.

for the soup

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion and carrot and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is translucent, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add half the chopped garlic and cook until the carrots have softened, about 4 minutes longer.

Add 2 tablespoons of the curry powder, stirring until everything is coated and becomes fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the lentils and 4 cups water. Increase the heat and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, puree the chickpeas, lemon, 1/4 cup water, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and remaining garlic in a food processor.

When the lentils are tender, stir in the chickpea puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste, adding additional curry powder if desired.

Serve soup warm, garnished with chopped green onions and extra lemon wedges. Store any left over soup covered in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Reheat before serving.