I’ve had an unopened bag of chickpea flour in my pantry for 4 months.

That’s 4 months too long.

After seeing socca on Anna and Serena’s blogs recently, it was about time that I try out socca pancakes. These were so flavorful, and so easy, too. It really was just like making any old pancakes. I might have burned myself trying to pick the fried batter off the bottom of the pan; it was worth it. When(not if) I make this again, I’d use a jarred marinara sauce, but since I didn’t have any I threw that together, too, and threw in the recipe. Top with a fried egg for something truly amazing. 

Savory Italian-Style Socca Pancakes

Ingredients(Makes 1 serving):

For the pancakes,

• 1/2 cup chickpea flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
• olive oil for cooking

For the sauce*,

• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes, mostly drained of water
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

*You could also just use 1/2 cup of your favorite store-bought marinara sauce.

To make the pancakes, whisk together the flour, water, salt, and herb seasoning until there are no clumps in the batter.

Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add half of the batter to the pan to cook. Once the sides have darkened and the bottom has cooked, flip the pancake once to cook the top batter. Move to a plate and cook the other half of the batter.

To make the sauce, mix together all of the ingredients.

Assemble by spreading half of the sauce over the first pancake and layering it with the second. Scoop remaining sauce generously over the top and season to taste.

Socca to me.

I’ve said that about 60 times by now. I still think it’s funny.

Whenever there’s a sale on hummus, I always pick up the roasted red pepper flavor, because that’s the one I’ve never made myself.

Now I don’t have to think that way any more. After getting the tahini and red pepper, I was determined to figure out how they make the prepackaged hummus taste so good. It turns out it’s not that difficult! This hummus comes out nice and creamy. It’d be even better with peeled chickpeas but I wasn’t looking to impress anyone. You can even make it for date night to because there’s no garlic; hummus lovers rejoice!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chickpeas
• 1 roasted red pepper with the skin peeled
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 Tablespoons neutral oil
• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar

For the roasted pepper, heat an oven to 425 degrees. Cut the pit out of the pepper and lay it on a baking tray. Brush the pepper with olive oil and roast it for 15-20 minutes until the skin starts to blister away. Let the pepper cool before trying to peel off the skin.

Add all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend until the hummus is completely smooth.

Move into a bowl to serve or store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to a week.

Serve with pita or crudités.

The best recipes come to you in 5 minutes.

The best recipes are made with ingredients you already have on hand.

The best recipes are simple yet flavorful.

This recipe is all of that. It’s not fussy. An idiot could make it(not that anyone here’s an idiot). And it’s healthy, too. It may not be up to par with Royal Wedding standards(one more day! Eek!) but it’s a great choice for a week night in America when you get home late and just want something simple.

Simple Citrusy White Beans

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

• 1 can cannellini beans, drained
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tablespoons orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Drain and rinse the beans if you haven’t already.

In a bowl, toss all of the ingredients together. Serve at room temperature.

I told you this recipe was idiot-proof. The black pepper is key to the flavor; I don’t even normally like black pepper but it balances out the fruit flavors really nicely.

What makes a recipe a winner in your book?