Socca (gram flour 'pancakes') vegan and gluten-free

[Other variations on socca - faina/farinata.]

Friday 26th August.
Had this again for dinner with a filling of lentils and mushrooms - and then I had a socca pudding!


100g gram flour
235g water
1/4 tsp salt


I cooked a small pancake and dusted it with sugar. Meanwhile I'd blitzed some strawberries and raspberries with a little sugar in the microwave. Using a slotted spoon I placed the fruit down the middle of the pancake then placed slices of vegan ice cream (Swedish glace chocolate ice cream) over the top of the fruit. Then I lifted the sides of the pancake over the filling and, with some difficulty, scooped it up and onto a plate. I then drizzled the fruit 'couli' over  the dish and served it up.


Very nice indeed!


TBH, the pancake fell apart quite a bit whilst maneuvering it around. On reflection I should have:
Oiled the pan a bit more, so the spatula would slide underneath easier;
Allowed the pancake to cook a little longer so it would keep its shape better;
Used a spatula on both sides to lift it out.


But there's no getting away from the fact that this is a very nice pud indeed!


Saturday 20th August.
Following a conversation with a friend whose daughter is on a fat-restricted, gluten-free diet, I tried this recipe without the oil - and found absolutely no difference. That's not quite true, I found it held together slightly better without the oil! (I've taken some pics which I'll post soon.)


I shall start another thread on 'Received wisdoms - batters and pancakes' on the BBC Food board shortly - I make some lovely vegan pancakes without either eggs or milk. (I started a similar thread recently questioning the use of butter and eggs in sponge cakes.)


27th May 2011.
Made this again today, substituting 20g of oatmeal for some gram flour and once again it was lovely. Only difference is you need to keep stirring the batter as the oatmeal tends to settle.


17th October 2010.
I came across this blog today, with a recipe for this bread very similar to the one I made yesterday:


I used:
100g gram flour
1 teaspoon Marigold bouillon powder
225ml water
20ml olive oil


I blitzed this for a couple of seconds, and poured in enough to make a 20cm pancake. I did think the batter was very thin, but, no, it was just right.


Then I placed some curried lentil and cabbage (that I’d had sitting on the stove) on one side of it, and folded it over like an omelette, and cooked it a bit more.

I have to tell you it was absolutely wonderful! The combination of flavours was just perfect!

For lunch I made the recipe I intended to make last night – I finely chopped 3 s-d-toms and some ‘Misto funghi’ from Lidl, stirred them into the batter and made a pancake with the mix. After a couple of minutes I turned it over, since I wasn’t sure the middle was done on top. I had this with some fried tomatoes and, once again it was lovely! 


Tonight I repeated the lentil-filled omelette, but this time I took a couple of pics:

Gorgeous, just gorgeous!