Socca Bowls

One thing I love about Panera is their bread bowl. Soup in a bread bowl is like 20 times better. But, since white bread is detrimental to our health, I've been trying to avoid it. So, I came up with a solution. Socca bowls.

Socca is a chickpea pancake or crepe of sorts. It originated in the South of France and is made from simple, clean ingredients. I've made it a few times before.

A basic recipe would be something like this:
2 cups chickpea flour
2 cups filtered water
2 T- 1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp fresh or dried herbs (rosemary is a favorite)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine ingredients together until smooth. Let is rest in the fridge for 30 mins to an hour. Heat a pan over medium heat. Add a little oil to the pan and add the batter. How much batter you add depends on how thick or thin you want the socca to be. Let it cook until it slightly browns on the edges. Flip and cook for an addition minute or so. Remove from heat. Repeat with the rest of your batter.

I've adapted the classic version above to be a little healthier by eliminating the olive oil and using a only few drops of coconut oil in the pan when cooking. Honestly, there is no change in the taste.

To make the socca bowl, I made a slightly thicker batter and seasoned it with about 2 tsp of herbs de provence and lots of fresh cracked pepper.



I let it cook a little longer until I could smell the nuttiness of the toasted socca.



I used it to line a bowl, like so...



Next, I ladled in the warm soup.



This made for a really filling lunch. The socca soaks up the broth but doesn't become soggy. You can break it apart as you work your way through the soup and it adds a nice "meaty" texture to the dish. I really enjoyed it. It definitely packs a healthy punch compared to the Panera bread bowls.