Open Your Pie Hole and Stuff a Socca in It

Photo by Geoffrey Smith

Anchovy salad on top of a pancake sound gross? Chef Jason Stoneburner will convince you otherwise with this recipe for socca.

To read more about Jason, check out part one and part two of this week's Grillaxin. Or, even better, go to Ballard and check out his mad skills at the restaurant that everybody was talking about when it first opened two years ago. He just might be the man to bring back the heat.

This savory recipe is topped with a salad that gets a salty kick from anchovies. Don't you be scared of those little fishies. They are delishies. (No, it's not a typo, just a silly rhyme and if you don't like it . . . )

Socca With Persillade

1 cup chickpea flour

18 ounces water
1 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for the skillet
Sea salt, to taste

In a bowl whisk together all the items and let stand for three hours. Heat a cast-iron skillet over high heat and coat the entire bottom with olive oil. It should be an excessive amount as the goal is to shallow-fry the batter.

Once the oil has reached its smoke point, add a layer of batter about 1/4 inch thick and let it fry for about 3 minutes. Once the underside is golden brown, flip and repeat.

Sauce Persillade
1/2 cup olive oil
1 large garlic clove
1 tablespoon capers
1 anchovy
2 bunches Italian parsley
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
sea salt, to taste

Remove 80 percent of the parsley stems wash and dry. In a blender add all the items and puree until smooth. Once the puree is smooth, coat the top of the socca as if it were a pizza and serve. You can expand on the recipe by using a nice olive-oil-poached tuna like bonito or canned whole albacore and the same items as the sauce Persillade.

Simply take a few capers, some whole-leaf parsley, and the tuna and toss it with extra virgin olive oil and vinegar and top the socca with this "salad."

Makes about four 6-inch socca.

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