Socca Niçoise

SERVES 4 TO 6

Socca is a beloved street food from Nice made with chickpea flour, water, olive oil, and salt. Cooked in a blazing-hot pizza oven, it develops a thin golden crust while remaining tender and moist inside, similar to the texture of a crêpe. To be true to traditional socca, it’s important for the batter to form into this ultrathin crust and to develop a nice color. Its rustic charm lies in its simplicity—­ it’s often served on a paper plate, sprinkled generously with cracked black pepper, and enjoyed warm—­ and it’s as much an experience as a recipe. The process of scraping it from the pan into shards with a spatula or fish slicer in front of your guests is a real crowd-pleaser.

INGREDIENTS

Mindful Cooking: Simple Recipes for Nurturing Body and Soul: A Plant-Based Cookbook Eric Ripert

• 1 3/4 cups chickpea flour

• 2 cups cold water

• 4 tablespoons extra-­ virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the pan

• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

• Freshly cracked black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the flour, water, olive oil, and salt in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Let rest for 1 hour at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.

2. Preheat the oven to 475°F.

3. Gently wipe the bottom and sides of a 13 by 18-­ inch rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Carefully pour in the batter to form a thin layer, approximately 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Place in the oven and cook for 13 to 15 minutes, until the edges start to brown. Remove and let rest for 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Using a pastry bench scraper or a metal spatula, break the socca into large irregular pieces (4 to 6 inches long), then finish with pepper and serve warm.

Excerpted from Mindful Cooking copyright © 2026 by Eric Ripert. Photography copyright by Nigel Parry. Used by permission of Random House an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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