Flatbreads made from chickpea flour are popular in several countries in Europe and South America.  I once bought a case of packets for the Genoese version, farinata.  They are popular in Argentina and Uruguay as faina.  In Provence, they are known as Socca.  Carol asked me to make one of these flatbreads, and I looked in The Cuisine of the Sun by Mireille Johnston, which is one of the oldest cookbooks I own.  She emphasized that Socca should be made very thin, which is in contrast to how I have made farinata/faina which were about ½ thick.  The impact of doing this is that the socca came out crispy and reminded me of the Indian snack pappadam.

I had some problems with part of the socca sticking to the bottom of the pan which I need to work on.  Maybe I needed some baking parchment.

Here is how I made it for 2 people.  It takes an hour to hydrate the chickpea flour, and then the cooking takes 5-10 minutes.

3 Tbs. chickpea flour

1 Tbs. olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan

½ tsp. salt plus more for sprinkling

3-1/2 Tbs. Water

Freshly ground black pepper

Mix together in a small bowl the chickpea flour, olive oil, salt and water into a smooth batter.  Allow to rest for an hour so that the chickpea flour becomes fully hydrated.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Select a broiler-proof pan big enough that the batter will make a 1/8 inch thick layer in it.  I used a 9-inch metal pie pan.  Grease the pan with olive oil and then pour in the batter. Put the pan in the oven and change the oven setting to broil.  After about 5 minutes check on it.  You want it to be browned and crispy, but not burnt. 

When done, remove from the oven, sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.