It was a shiny December morning, with warm winter breeze and a temperature that made the rest of the country looked downright miserable. He was young, I was younger. He was eager to show me his charming city. I grew giddy just by looking at him smile. We had walked hand in hand all along Promenade des Anglais. I gazed at the blue sea, the gray pebbled beach, the pink dome of the Négresco and took a deep breath of the fresh wintry air. Aaah Nice. It truly was a wonderful place to be.
He suddenly pulled my hand signaling we take a left turn. We passed the farmer’s market, down a narrow alley, dodged a delivery motorcycle and headed straight to a packed little eatery. I saw what must’ve been the biggest pan ever. Smoke was blowing off it and I could see what looked to me like pancakes. He told me to wait by the table and minutes later came back with said pancake in one hand, and a spinach pie in the other. The pie turned out to be pleasantly sweet. And the green inside turned out to be chard. He chuckled as he wiped a speck of icing sugar off my cheek and handed me the pancake this time. I took a bite. Salty. Peppery. Dry. I politely nibbled on the edges. He could see that I preferred the Tourte aux Blettes and handed me back the pie before leading me to Fenocchio to spoil me some more.
…..
When I saw that socca was up for this week’s FFwD, I just knew that I wanted to make it. No matter that the only chickpea flour I could find was of the yellow, Indian kind, I just knew that I needed to make it. I had forgotten what it tasted like along with the memories associated with it. And although I knew that I wouldn’t like the end result, it was nice to have been reminded.
Socca from Vieux Nice (in 5 steps)
- Make batter by mixing chickpea flour and water. Add in olive oil, salt and rosemary. Mix well.
- Let batter rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat oven and pizza/cake pan until screaming hot.
- Bake batter for 10 minutes, until golden on top.
- Serve with lots of freshly ground black pepper.
The complete recipe can be found in Dorie Greenspan’s “Around My French Table”.
Check out:
the spicy lemongrass 
What lovely memories of your first socca!
Thanks for sharing this great recipe! =D
I love your memories. I don’t know how I managed to miss the entire experience while I was there. Several times!
Sounds like the beginning of a saucy romance novel:-)
You reminded me of european memories too. Lovely post! And your socca looks really good, crisp and yellow!
Sweet experience I would have taken the spinach pie over socca anyday.
I love when food evokes such special memories! Thanks for sharing. A sweet greens pie sounds interesting. I’m swimming in greens from my CSA share, so I’ll look that up.
Awww, nice story.
Sorry you didn’t like the socca, but at least the memories were kind.
Memories! Aren’t they wonderful. Especially when food brings them back.
Great post – lovely looking socca, sorry you didn’t enjoy!
What a lovely post! It really does sound like the beginning of a romantic novel! I love the colour of your socca it’s so cheerful!