Socca Pizzas

Bring Italy to your kitchen with this chickpea pancake pizza mash up.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• For the Socca (pizza base)

• 250  g chickpea flour (also known as gram flour)
• 2  cups water (400ml)
• 2  pinches  of sea salt and 1 of pinch black pepper
• 1  large  pinch of herbs such as rosemary or 1  large thyme or 1  large oregano or 1  small  pinch cumin or 1  tablespoon  of crushed garlic or 1  tablespoon garlic powder
•  coconut oil or  ghee (for frying)
•  extra virgin olive oil

• For the Toppings

•  heritage tomatoes
•  chioggia beetroot
•  pesto sauce (Brazil Nut or Kale)
•  mozzarella and cheddar cheese

• For tomato sauce

• 3  diced garlic cloves
• 1  tablespoon ghee
• 12  large tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 2  teaspoons dried oregano or 1  tablespoon  fresh oregano leaves
•  salt and pepper
• 1  chili, finely chopped (optional)

Directions

1. For Base.
2. Whisk together the socca ingredients or put it all into your Vitamix and blend as we do.
3. Leave to stand for at least 30 minutes at room temperature to allow the chickpea flour to fully absorb the water.
4. Grease the bottom of your frying pan with just a touch of butter, coconut oil or ghee and set to a moderately high heat.
5. Pour in enough batter to cover the base around ½ a centimetre thick and let the underside cook for around 1 minute - it is ready when it lifts off easily.
6. Flip the base over and cook the other side until golden brown. Cook longer for a crisper base. Repeat to make remaining bases.
7. Remove and set aside until you are ready to turn it into a socca pizza. Alternatively, pour over some good olive oil and crushed garlic and enjoy as it is.
8. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
9. Make Tomato sauce (recipe below) or use a good-quality passata.
10. Put pizza bases on wire rack (for a crispier base) or baking tray and add tomato sauce, or passata, before finishing off with your toppings.
11. Bake pizzas for 10 minutes - for a margherita give the cheese a quick blast under the grill.
12. Drizzle with good extra virgin olive oil and scatter on rocket and herbs.
13. For tomato sauce.
14. Gently heat the ghee over a medium heat and fry the garlic for 1 minute.
15. Add chopped tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper and chilli.
16. Spread over pizza base before adding toppings.