Chickpea Pancake with Poached Eggs and Basil

Socca is one of those dishes that makes you wonder why you ever bought bread for breakfast. It is a thin pancake made from nothing more than chickpea flour, water, salt and olive oil, and it comes from the Italian Riviera, around Nice and Genoa, where street vendors have sold wedges of it hot from copper pans for generations. The name is said to come from the Ligurian word for the pan it was baked in, though people argue about that. What everyone agrees on is that it is cheap, quick and wonderful.

The chickpea flour is the star here. It is made from ground chickpeas, so it brings a nutty, earthy flavor and a good dose of plant protein to the plate. It also needs a long rest in the bowl. Give the batter at least 15 minutes, or make it the night before and refrigerate it. The flour soaks up the water slowly, and the batter turns from gritty to smooth and pourable. If you skip the rest, you will get a thick, dense pancake that tastes raw.

The broiler does the heavy lifting. Preheating the skillet in the oven, then pouring the batter into hot oil, gives you that crisp, bubbled edge that makes socca worth eating. Watch it closely the last few minutes. Chickpea flour goes from golden to dark quickly, and a burnt edge is bitter. Once it is set, a quick cut into wedges makes it easy to serve.

Poached eggs on top turn this into a proper meal. The vinegar in the water is a small trick that helps the whites hold their shape, and a metal strainer lets you lift each egg out cleanly. Soft yolks run into the warm socca and the tomatoes, which is exactly the point. If you are cooking for a crowd, the socca can wait on the counter while you poach in batches.

Leftovers keep well. Wrap any extra socca tightly and refrigerate it for up to two days. Reheat it in a dry skillet over medium heat so the bottom crisps again. A cold wedge with a slice of tomato and a pinch of salt makes a lovely lunch. You could also serve this alongside a bowl of Savory Roasted Vegetable Strata if you are feeding a brunch table, or pair the wedges with a tomato salad like Tuscan Bread and Tomato Salad for a summer meal that feels like the Riviera. A simple bowl of Creamy Fava Bean Puree with Pecorino also suits the same flavors.