Socca Pizza With Spring Veggies & Creamy Pesto Sauce

Socca Pizza With Spring Veggies & Creamy Pesto Sauce

Serves: 4 people
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Socca Pizza With Spring Veggies & Creamy Pesto Sauce

Ingredients

For the Socca Pizza:
  • 1 cup Bob's Red Mill Chickpea flour
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Dash of pepper
For the Toppings:
  • 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup pesto
  • 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetables (such as asparagus, carrots, celery, frozen peas, radishes, kale)
  • Mint and dill for garnish
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

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Who doesn't love a pizza party!? But if you're looking for something a little different, a little more elegant, you want the cheesy goodness of pizza but elevated to the next level. 

Well, then you need this socca pizza with spring veggies and creamy pesto sauce! It's delicious, gluten-free, and customizable, what more could a person ask for in a recipe? If you're new to the culinary arts, you may not be familiar with socca. But don't let that scare you away!

Socca is essentially a large chickpea pancake. It's popular street food in Nice, France, where it's usually eaten as an appetizer alongside a nice, crisp glass of rose. The basic batter is equal parts chickpea flour and water, with a few tablespoons of olive oil. This recipe takes regular socca and adds a little more flavor to it with some garlic powder, onion powder and a few dashes of salt and pepper. Making the socca batter is actually the first step of this recipe. Chickpea flour is very dry and powdery, so once everything is mixed together, you want to let it sit for at least 30 minutes. But don't worry about getting bored!

There's plenty of stuff for you to do while your batter hydrates. Time to make the creamy pesto sauce! If you want to be extra fancy, you can use your own pesto for this recipe, but honestly, no one will be able to tell the difference if you just use a jar from the store. Mix the Greek yogurt, pesto, parmesan, and a dash of salt together, and you're done! Cover and set aside for the flavors can meld together and get really delicious. This is where the customization comes in.

This recipe has some suggestions, but really any fresh or frozen veggies you have on hand will do just fine. If you're using fresh veggies, blanch them by boiling them in salted water for a minute or two then dropping them into an ice bath. If you're using frozen veggies, just pop them in a microwave until they're nice and defrosted. Now it's time to make the socca!

  1. Get your oven heated up to 450º F and put a 10-inch heatproof skillet in the oven to warm up.
  2. Once the oven and the skillet are hot, carefully take out the skillet and pour the socca batter in. Enjoy the sound of the sizzles for a couple of seconds, then pop it right back in the oven!
  3. Let is bake for about 10 minutes, or until you notice it start to get crispy and brown around the edges. Take the socca out of the oven, and let it cool off for a minute on a cutting board.
  4. Don't put the toppings on right away while it's still hot otherwise, the pesto cream will melt and slide off, and you'll have a real mess on your hands.
  5. Once the socca has cooled off a bit and is ready to serve, spread the yogurt pesto mixture over your socca and top with prepared vegetables, herbs, and a sprinkle of cracked black pepper. Slice into 4 pieces and serve right away!