Mary Sweeting tells us how to make a delicious gluten free socca snack

When I went gluten-free I wondered what in the world would I be able to eat if it wasn't bread? Rest assured, there's a whole new gluten free world out there just waiting for you.

When it comes to flours that will bind in much the same way as wheat, buckwheat has long been used by the French for their delicious 'gallettes', while gram, or chickpea, flour is another - used widely across India and Northern Africa to bind everything from onion bhajis to this sensational socca recipe.

Socca, like pissaladiere, can be found in Nice, France and uses the city's close connection to North Africa for its inspiration. Turmeric, chickpea flour and olive oil are combined with water and served simply with green salad, onion, parsley or as I like it, olive tapenade.


Socca from The Guilt Free Gourmet by Jordan Bourke

Ingredients:

1 cup plus 2 tbsp gram/chickpea flour

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

olive oil

Topping:

1 red onion, freshly diced

Handful pitted black and green olives, chopped into small chunks

Good handful chopped parsley

1 lemon

1. To make the socca, sift the gram flour into a bowl and add 1/2 tsp salt and the turmeric. Slowly add 12/3 cups water, whisking quickly all the time until the water has been added, breaking up any lumps as you go. Add 3tbsp olive oil and stir.

2. Heat a little oil in a non stick frying pan until hot. Pour a ladleful of batter into the pan, swirling it so the mixture spreads to the edges. Reduce the heat to low-medium and cook gently. It takes a good six to eight minutes on the first side. Resist the temptation to stick your spatula underneath until the edges have dried out and the middle has tiny little bubbles.

At this point, take the pan and shake it from side to side. The pancake should move but if it sticks you can help it along with a spatula. However if it doesn't budge at all, leave it another minute then try again. Flip the pancake and cook for a further one to two minutes. Repeat until you've used all the batter, wrapping each finished pancake in parchment paper and keeping them warm in a low oven.

3. For the topping, liberally scatter the olives, parsley and onion over the pancakes, season with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.

4. Cut the pancakes into wedges, as they do in the South of France, or you can roll them into big cigars. Hummous on top works well too.

- Mary Sweeting writes about gluten-free and healthy food at  www.therestoredkitchen.com