When Charlie asked me to write a guest post using the new Weeknight Gluten Free cookbook from Williams Sonoma and Kristine Kidd I was so excited.
Weeknight Gluten Free, 2013
Williams Sonoma cookbooks are usually really well written and crafted, but I have only bought them as presents for family and friends. Having Celiac’s Disease, there was little there for me personally until recently- Which is wonderful! Looking through the cookbook I wanted to choose a recipe that I had never made before, so it would be a challenge and I could try something new. Lots of the recipes were very simple, and truly were week night meal fare. Nothing overly complicated. The one snag I hit was that most of the recipes also called for dairy products of some sort and I am allergic to cow’s milk. That narrowed down my choices considerably however, after discussing with Charlie the possibility of making a substitution, I settled on the recipe for Crisp Socca with Burrata, Greens, and Olive Dressing. Burrata is a smooth mozzarella style cheese, and there really is nothing similar to it. I decided to use a mild chevre instead to still get that smooth texture.
The batter was super simple to make and only took me two minutes. You can either use it immediately or leave it overnight in the fridge. That means you could whip it together in the morning, pop it in the fridge, and then it will be ready to go when you get home at night.
I used the batter immediately. The recipe called for the use of two 9″ cake pans with which to broil the batter in. This past year I changed over all my baking pans to silicone pans – oops! I am pretty sure broiling my silicone pans would not have the desired effect. However, I have an old cast iron pan that I absolutely adore and laughs in the face of a broiler. Its 11 inches and not 9, but I figured it would be fine. The recipe does make mention that you must watch your broiler, and indeed you must. The difference between beautiful golden brown and charred unhappiness is a matter of seconds. Luckily, the first one I caught right before the charred unhappiness appeared, and the second one came out perfect.
The vinaigrette was also super easy to make. I don’t have a food processor so I simply chopped up the pitted olives as fine as I could and then used the old fashioned method of whisking by hand until the vinaigrette came together. Easily done and mighty tasty too! I assembled the dish according to the directions and it made a fine looking plate.
It was tasty, and when I make it again I will try some different toppings. I am thinking that adding chicken marinated in olive oil, sea salt, thyme, and rosemary would also be delicious. Or instead of cheese, a creamy avocado would add a wonderful contrast to the bitter arugula and briny olives. This seems like a very versatile dish that could easy support whatever leftover veggies you may have in your fridge to throw together – like roasted root vegetables, or sauteed summer squashes and asparagus. Any way you put it together, its a very yummy and satisfying light meal.
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Crisp Socca with Burrata, Greens, and Olive Dressing
from Weeknight Gluten Free
Crisp Socca
1 cup garbanzo bean flour
1 cup water (room temperature)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary minced
3/4 tsp salt
generous dash of pepper
In a bowl combine all the ingredients and whisk well until smooth. Use immediately or cover and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 2 hours, or overnight in the fridge.
Preheat your oven to 500 degrees, and place your rack at the very top. Once the oven is fully heated, change it to broil and place your pan(s) in the oven and heat for 2 minutes. Carefully remove the hot pans and add 1 Tbsp oil to each and swirl to coat the bottoms. Return to the broiler for another 2 minutes or until the oil is smoking. Carefully remove the pan(s) from the oven and divide the batter into each (or half into one and broil one at a time, as I did) and swirl the batter to cover the bottom. Return to the broiler and broil until deeply browned in spots, watching carefully, for 7-12 minutes. Serve right away. Makes 2 crisp socca.
Topping
3/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives
1/3 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
fresh ground pepper
4 cups of arugula or baby greens
8oz of Burrata cheese
Place olives in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add oil and vinegar and blend to make a dressing. Season to taste with pepper. (The olives probably contain plenty of salt, so no more should be needed.)
Place the arugula in a bowl with half of the dressing and toss to coat.
Place the socca onto a plate, slice the burrata and spread over the socca. Drizzle the remaining dressing and then top with the dressed greens and serve right away.
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Debbi Hobson, our newest guest contributor on Thrifty Foodies, is a costumer and Gluten Free baking expert living in NYC. She is currently working on her first Gluten Free cookbook which will be released later this year. Follow her GF adventures at Debbi Does Gluten Free!
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