Socca Pizza with Cream 'Cheese', Sun-dried Tomatoes & Artichoke Hearts

Vegan

Nothing to do with football… . Rather, it is a mixture between a pizza and a crêpe! Socca is traditional street food from Nice – with a similar dish found in Genoa but called Farinata by the Italians. We have given it a modern twist.

Serves:

2-4

Time:

20-30 minutes

Ingredients:

130g/4 ½ oz chickpea flour (also sold as gram or besan flour) – available from large supermarkets, health food shops, delis and ethnic grocers
1 tsp vegan bouillon powder or crumbled stock cube
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp baking powder
200ml/7fl oz warm water
3 tbsp virgin olive oil
½ tsp dried mixed herbs or any Mediterranean herbs of your choice such as oregano, rosemary or thyme
Low-cal spray

Topping
125g – half a tub – of vegan cream cheese, eg Tofutti or Sheese, any variety
1 medium onion, very finely chopped
6 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped in pieces with scissors (use the ready-to eat variety)
8 artichoke hearts, chopped in halves – tinned or frozen and defrosted

Method:

1. Sift the chickpea flour into a large mixing bowl and add bouillon powder/crumbled stock cube, pepper and baking powder. Don’t omit the sifting process as gram flour is often lumpier than wheat flour.

2. Gradually pour in the water, whisking well to avoid lumps.

3. Slowly mix in 2 tbsp of the olive oil and mix thoroughly until a runny batter has formed.

4. Add the rosemary and any of the options.

5. Cover and set aside while the oven heats up. It’s even better if you can do this a few hours beforehand, or overnight.

6. Preheat the oven to 220ºC/430ºF/Gas Mark 7-8.

7. Pour the batter into the pizza dish or baking tray, squirted with a little oil spray.

8. Cook for 7 minutes.

9. Remove from oven, place toppings and return to oven for about 3-5 minutes, making sure the edges don’t get too brown.

10. Serve hot and eat immediately.