I very much favour sweet breakfast foods over savoury ones; it’s how I get to satisfy my incredibly sweet-tooth daily, but I also do appreciate a good savoury breakfast, I reserve meals like this socca and cilantro sauce for special mornings.

Weekend mornings where I do manage to get out of bed and go for a run or a long walk along the seawall.

Coincidentally, I got the recipe for this cilantro sauce on the seawall.

Walking the seawall is amazing like that; sometimes you meet the most interesting people, and last year a kindhearted woman gave me the recipe to this cilantro sauce – I rushed home, wrote it down and proceeded to make it straightaway.

I’d made the batter for my socca the night before and kept it in the fridge, I left it on the kitchen counter to come to room temperature while I was out for my walk.

We must have both worked up an appetite because the woman and I got talking about breakfast, specifically what we were going to eat in the next hour or so… hers were savoury pancakes, which she pairs with this tart herby cilantro sauce.

This is how I got the idea to try it with socca, and it was absolutely special, it’s got to be since almost a year later I’m still eating socca with cilantro sauce, and can’t seem to stop talking about it.

It’s a convenient way to use up excess cilantro or other herbs; I should point out that it’s not just for socca, this sauce is for just about anything… I use it like ketchup or a dip and sometimes even stir it into soups or over roasted potatoes.

As for socca, I don’t think I’ve said enough to express how much I love socca!
I love that it has just so few ingredients, it’s easy to make and so very satisfying and filling.

It usually takes less than fifteen minutes to cook once I get back home and the cilantro sauce can also be made ahead of time.

A few weeks ago I piled on some caramelized onions, sometimes I top my slices with leftover roasted vegetables.

Have I mentioned that it’s naturally vegan and gluten free?

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Socca with Cilantro Sauce

INGREDIENTS

For Socca

• 1 cup chickpea flour
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• freshly-ground black pepper

For Cilantro Sauce

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil (more or less depending on desired consistency), divided
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
• 1 cup tightly packed cilantro
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/3 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, mix flour, water, salt, cumin, pepper and 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil
2. Let the batter rest for at least 2 hours, covered, at room temperature (you can let it rest in the fridge overnight and bring to room temperature before cooking)
3. When ready to cook; heat the broiler in your oven and oil a 9- or 10-inch pan with the remaining olive oil
4. Heat the pan in the oven
5. Once the pan and oven are hot, pour enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan
6. Swirl batter around to evenly distribute it in the pan and put back in the oven
7. Bake until the socca is firm and beginning to blister and burn – the exact time will depend on your broiler
8. Slide socca out of pan onto plate or cutting board and slice into pieces
9. Cook the remaining socca batter the same way, adding a touch more oil to the pan between each one
10. To make cilantro sauce – Toss garlic, half of the olive oil, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth
11. Add cilantro, crushed red pepper and the remaining olive oil and sea salt, pulse (blender or food processor) a few times until the cilantro is finely chopped and the sauce comes together – make it as thick or as watery as you want
12. Serve slices socca with cilantro sauce
13. Enjoy!

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