Roasted Spring Vegetable Socca

The easiest, quickest dinner or lunch recipe today! Speedy vegan socca, or farinata, with some spring veggies. This is a recipe I turn to over and over again, relying on whatever seasonal vegetables are available to fill my pancake. Socca is about the easiest, protein-rich vegan dinner you can make.

It’s essentially a sheet pan dinner, because you roast the veggies while making the pancakes and then you’re ready to go. This makes a great transition dinner into the lighter meals that make up summer diets, because it’s still cozy and filling but doesn’t take too much time when you want to be doing things outside.

Socca is made from chickpea or gram flour, which is easy to find at most supermarkets and definitely in Indian or other South Asian grocers. It’s quite a bit more expensive here than it is back in Canada, but still very affordable compared to animal protein sources or even other types of flour.

The batter does need to rest for at least an hour, so you can either mix it up in the morning, or if you get home at five or six and mix it up then you’ll still be eating at a reasonable time. You can top it with fruit and have it for breakfast, eat it plain with caramelized onions (one of my favourites), or just roast up whatever’s in your crisper and top it with a mix of vegetables. That’s pretty much what I did here.

The possibilities are endless – check out my cucumber lentil salad socca, or try adding dried or fresh chopped herbs into the mix, topping with a simple spring salad, any roasted veg, or an easy tahini sauce.

I love making it as a protein packed main dish that doesn’t have the texture of beans or lentils (no tofu here, so this is a nice change). This spring socca serves as both a satisfying carb and high energy protein but feels like you’re just eating crêpes. It’s something I often make when I’m alone because it’s so low effort and makes the perfect weeknight meal.

If you’re going to be working late, you can mix the batter in the morning and pop the bowl in the fridge, then cook when you get home and just toss some lettuce and vinaigrette over it. I’m a big fan of this. Really healthy, really easy, and if you make it in the oven, virtually no active time needed at all. So you can wind down while your dinner cooks instead of standing over the stove or having a chocolate bar for dinner. We’ve all done it. (Right?)

A couple quick tips. Resting is very important here, so don’t skimp on that full hour. Use a good non-stick pan, like a well seasoned cast iron pan, or make sure you use a decent amount of oil. If you’re flipping the pancakes and not oven baking, make sure they’re well browned on the bottom beforehand, or they’ll break. Keep the leeks chunky as they tend to brown quickly. And, some tahini pesto wouldn’t go amiss here! 

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Adapted from my Cucumber & Lentil Salad Topped Socca

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Yield: Serves 2

Roasted Vegetable Socca

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This traditionally vegan socca, made with chickpea flour, features early spring vegetables like leeks, quickly roasted while the pancakes are cooked.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Resting Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

Socca

• 150 grams / 1 cup chickpea flour
• 310 ml / 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste)

Roasted Vegetable Filling

• 2 leeks, sliced into 2 cm rounds
• 1 bulb fennel, roughly chopped
• 1 bulb kohlrabi, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 150 grams / 1 cup frozen peas
• 50 grams / 2 cups greens* (chard, spinach, etc.)
• Juice of half a lemon (per person)
• Fresh basil, for topping

Instructions

Socca

1. Whisk all of the ingredients together in a mixing bowl, making sure that any clumps are incorporated. Cover and let the mixture sit for a minimum of one hour, or up to 12 hours (refrigerated*).
2. Once you're ready to make the pancakes, heat a large frying pan over medium heat with a little coconut oil. Pour 1/4 of the batter into the pan and swirl it to fully cover the bottom of the pan.
3. Cook for about a minute, or until it starts to look dry at the edges, then carefully flip and cook for a further 30 seconds or so. Both sides should be golden. Repeat until all the batter is used, then serve the pancakes hot with the filling.

Roasted Vegetable Filling

1. Preheat the oven to 200C / 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the leeks, fennel, kohlrabi, oil, and spices onto the baking sheet and toss with your hands until coated.
2. Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly golden. Stir the peas and greens into the hot vegetables to thaw/wilt. Top each of the pancakes with an equal amount of filling, and serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice and fresh basil.

Notes

* If you're leaving the socca batter to sit for more than a couple of hours, place it in the refrigerator, covered.

** If the greens you use are pretty big, give them a rough chop or tear them into smaller pieces, about the size of baby spinach.

• If you'd like to bake the socca, follow the instructions in this recipe.

This recipe was originally shared in March 2017. It has been updated with improvements to the recipe, text, and photos as of May 2019.