I am, at this very moment, making socca.  Anyone know what I’m talking about?  I hadn’t heard of it until about a week ago when I decided to make my household much more gluten-free.  And I thought, while I’m at the major life changes, why not throw in vegetarianism 3 or 4 days a week.  I stumbled across this brilliant blog called My New Roots and have already spent hours learning from this woman.  What I love most is that the author is a holistic nutritionist and many of her recipes include health tips.  I’ve been attempting to eat a whole foods, all-natural diet for about 6 years now, and her depth of knowledge and helpfulness are as great as anyone I’ve come across yet. 

So anyway, socca.  Apparently it’s street food in the south of France.  It’s totally gluten free and is made from garbanzo bean flour.  I learned from My New Roots that chickpeas have this amazing fiber that helps along cells that line your intestinal wall, lowering your risk of colon problems, including cancer.  This is like, the most important thing in my house – keeping my husband’s colon healthy and happy.  He’s got a body that is predisposed to do the opposite.

Her recipe turned it into a tart salad thing.  But she said socca is great for tortillas too, so if these things turn out, I’m going to make tacos.

…

Alright, I’ve pulled one out of the oven.  Turns out my tacos will probably be more like deconstructed tacos since I don’t think I’ll be able to fold them, but still.  I think I just successfully made a socca tortilla.  One point for the slow food movement!  It was insanely easy – here’s the scoop:

Combine a cup of the organic garbanzo bean flour with ½ teaspoons of salt and pepper.  Then add 1 ½ cup of luke warm water and 3 Tablespoons of olive oil.  Mix it all together, cover and let sit.  The longer the better – at least 30 minutes, but up to a couple days.  Then, preheat your over to 450 degrees with a small 7 or 8 inch skillet inside.  Once preheated, pull the skillet out, add a little butter or coconut oil and pour the batter in a stream until it reaches the outside of the pan.  Bake for 6 or 7 minutes.  Then I turned my broiler on low and broiled for like 3 or 4 more minutes.  Basically, just get the batter to set and turn brown. 

The possibilities are endless really – I’m doing a version of a short-rib taco recipe I found with leftover grass-fed steak slices, red onions and avocados.  But salads with locally grown lettuce and tomatoes, mini-pizzas with organic cheese, berries and local honey, anything.  Soccas are my new obsession – and luckily, like one of the best things I could do for my gut!  Enjoy my locavore friends!