Scallion and Sumac Socca with Mashed Avocado, Olives and Feta
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Cook time: 
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Makes: 3-4 servings
 
Socca really is a blank canvas, that can be turned into whatever you want it to be. You can change the spices, replace the scallions with garlic or leave them out all together. Socca is naturally gluten-free and can easily be made dairy free by eliminating the feta. One of the times we made this, we left off the olives and used pickled red onions. That was great, too.
What you'll need
  • 1 cup chickpea flour
  • 1½ teaspoons ground sumac
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup water
  • 4 teaspoons, plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
  • 2 large scallions, washed, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice (from ½ lemon)
  • pinch kosher salt
  • 2 ounces pitted kalamata olives, halved (about 14) or whole pitted nicoise olives, rinsed and dried, if especially salty
  • 2 ounces creamy feta, crumbled
  • For serving pinches of ground sumac, thinly sliced scallions
How you'll make it
  1. In bowl, whisk together chickpea flour, sumac, salt, water and 4 teaspoons olive oil. Let sit uncovered on the counter 1-2 hours. Stir in sliced scallions.
  2. About 20 minutes before you're ready to cook, adjust top rack and place it 6 inches from the broiler. Place 10- or 12-inch cast iron skillet in the oven. Turn broiler onto high. Let sit 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven; add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to pan, carefully swirling to coat, while wearing an oven mitt. Place pan back in oven 2 minutes.
  3. Immediately pour in chickpea batter, carefully tilting the pan or using a spatula to quickly spread it to coat the bottom of the pan. Broil 5-8 minutes, or until set and charred in spots, keeping an eye on it, especially during the last couple minutes, to prevent burning.
  4. Meanwhile, slice, halve and pit avocado. In bowl, mash avocado using a fork, making sure to leave chunky pieces. Stir in lemon juice and a small pinch of kosher salt (remember that you're adding salty olives and feta cheese, too). When the socca is ready, transfer to a cutting board or keep in the pan (but remember that pan is very, very hot). Spread mashed avocado all around, leaving a small border. Sprinkle with olives, feta, pinches of sumac and sliced scallions. Cut into wedges.
How to plan ahead
This recipe is very fast, and most of it needs to be done near serving. But, you can slice the scallions, rinse and dry your olives, crumble your cheese and measure your dry ingredients the day before, if desired.
If you want to make this when you're get home from work, give yourself a head start: measure the chickpea flour, sumac and salt into your mixing bowl and cover. Set out a liquid measuring cup for the water, a tablespoon for the olive oil and your oil. You can have this mixed together approximately 1 minute after you walk in the door. (Then, take off your shoes.)
Recipe by at https://www.lifeaswecookit.com/scallion-sumac-socca-with-mashed-avocado-olives-feta/