socca.

[rootofnewt]

explodingcat informed me that he was tired of his rice cakes for his evening snack. He's been eating lundberg rice cakes for years now. Tom never gets bored of anything, so it was pretty telling that he was ready to try something else. Problem--it has to be wholegrain and fit within our dietary parameters. So I suggested socca/farinata.

He asked why we hadn't made it before and I was honest: chickpea flour tastes like robot ass. Seriously, bean flours suck because they're pretty much raw and most dishes don't cook them completely.

So I had a wonderful idea--mix the batter and let it sit overnight. It will ferment slightly and maybe, just maybe, soak enough to not taste like metallic dung. Mix in some roasted garlic and some thyme and it might just be tasty.

It was excellent. We had socca for a few nights. Tonight, he made it with fresh batter. Edible, but very reminiscent of sucking on poorly machined and discarded gears. We'll keep the food in our repertoire, but the batter must be soaked.

Comments

[twostepsfwd.livejournal.com]

Cool - I'm glad you enjoyed it. I think massive amounts of rosemary and onion and black pepper makes chickpea flour taste not too powerful for me. It's weird - There are some things I love chickpea flour in, such as pakora batter. and i love soccas. but I can't stand GF bread that is made with even a little bit of the stuff. Hm. I think it's the spices that makes it tasty rather than nasty to me.

[krasota.livejournal.com]

It was well spiced, I just can't tolerate the hint of metallic flavor in most of my food. Soaking the batter overnight/all day works, though. :)

[seeliespright.livejournal.com]

Tom snores?! I'd never imagine.

[krasota.livejournal.com]

He has a bad cold. Normally, no.

[aleiphein.livejournal.com]

Clever! Will have to try the soaking. I usually try to avoid the whole chickpea-flour-tasting-like-misery thing by cooking until just shy of burnt and going heavy on the onion :)

socca, pudla, dhokla...

[junni.livejournal.com]

Socca sounds like Pudla. Pudla... mmmmmmmmmm...
http://www.globalgourmet.com/destinations/india/chickpea.html

Fermented socca sounds like dhokla. Again, mmmmmmmm...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhokla

It has been ages since I have made any South Asian food from scratch, as my spouse is simply not a fan, but your post has my mouth watering.

How about papadum?

Chana dal flour (chickpea flour) is to be revered! In college, it serves as the basis for many a late night creative snack when you live in the international dorm where 10%+ of the population is South Asian.

Re: socca, pudla, dhokla...

[krasota.livejournal.com]

dhokla is usually steamed, isn't it? Socca is cooked both on the stovetop and under the broiler. It's closer to pudla, only not turned.

I love papadums. :)

Re: socca, pudla, dhokla...

[junni.livejournal.com]

Yes, dhokla is steamed. Yay for papadum!