Dishing Up the Dirt

Spicy Chickpeas & Fried Egg Flatbreads

This is one of those great recipes to keep in your back pocket for simple weeknight dinners or elegant brunches shared with friends. It’s a lovely combination of flavors and textures and I adore the addition of farm fresh fried eggs. They add a richness to this recipe that takes it over the top.

If you haven’t experimented with chickpea flour yet than I highly recommend running to the grocery store and stocking up on some quickly. I’ve been using it quite a bit in my cooking and love the flavor and texture. These flatbreads (also known as socca) are a traditional dish from Nice, France. As with most traditional dishes there are dozens of ways to prepare it. I like to bake mine in the oven in cast iron skillets (I use a combination of small 6 inch skillets to bigger 8 and 10 inch skillets for different sizes). Many people prepare socca right on the stovetop using the same method as making pancakes. There really isn’t a wrong way to go about it so feel free to play around. You can make your socca as thin or thick as you’d like. For this recipe I made them slightly thicker so they could withstand the weight of the chickpeas and eggs. However, thin crust (like a crepe) would work just fine too. This is a “messy” meal so a fork and knife is definitely the way to tackle this however, I suppose if you make your crust on the thin side you could wrap these up like burritos. Be sure to have napkins near by though.

I hope you all enjoy these flatbreads as much as we do. Taylor was my taste tester as I was photographing this recipe and he had a hard time stopping before I was done snapping away! This is a new favorite dish for him and I’m excited to make it again next weekend. If you can’t fine chickpea flour at your local grocery store you can order it online. I like using Bob’s Red Mill brand.

If you’re preparing this for dinner I’d recommend serving these with your favorite beer, if this is a weekend brunch these would pair beautifully with a spicy Bloody Mary. Grab a fork, some napkins and  dig in! Cheers.

Spicy Chickpeas & Fried Egg Flatbreads

Prep Time: 15 minutes    Cook Time: 45 minutes    Serves: 4-6

Chickpea Flatbreads
  • 2 cups chickpea flour
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil + additional for greasing the pans
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • pinch of dried herbs (I used za'atar but feel free to use a pinch of thyme, rosemary or basil)
Spicy Chickpeas
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium sized yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon tomato paste
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (I always recommend cooking your own but canned chickpeas will work fine too, just make sure to drain and rinse them first)
  • 1/2 teaspoon superfine sugar
  • 4-6 farm fresh eggs
  • fresh minced thyme for serving
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • pinch of za'atar to taste (optional)

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 450F
  2. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients for the chickpea flat bread. Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Set the batter aside for 30 minutes.
  3. Heat the olive oil in dutch oven or big pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until fragrant and beginning to soften. About 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, cayenne and paprika. Cook, stirring constantly until the onions are evenly coated in the spice mixture. About 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas and sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  4. Place a couple of small cast iron skillets (6 inch, 8 inch or 10 inch) in the preheated oven for 5 minutes to heat up. Carefully remove the pans from the oven with oven mitts. Use a generous amount of oil and drizzle each pan to evenly coat the bottom and sides. Pour enough batter in each skillet to coat the bottom (you can go thick or thin here) Place the pans back in the oven and bake until the batter is browned on the top and sides. About 8-11 minutes. Times will vary depending on the size of pan and the thickness of your batter. You can check the flatbread after 8 minutes by carefully using a spatula to lift one of the sides to check if the center is cooked through. If you have remaining batter repeat this process until you don't have any batter left.
  5. While the flatbreads are cooking heat a large frying pan that has been lightly oiled over medium high heat. Crack 4 eggs into the pan and fry until the whites have set and the yokes are cooked to your liking.
  6. Remove the flatbreads from the pans and scoop an even amount of the spicy chickpeas onto each flatbread. Top with the fried eggs and season with minced thyme, a pinch of za'atar and salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

*Use this recipe as a guide. *This recipe is lightly adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbook Plenty More *Adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary. *Taste test as you go. *Have fun in the kitchen.


Leave a Reply

11 thoughts on “Spicy Chickpeas & Fried Egg Flatbreads

  1. Jeanne says:

    Do you stir the chickpeas into the onion/tomato mixture so that they become coated with the sauce?

    1. Andrea says:

      Yes! My bad. Fixing the recipe now!

  2. This looks great!
    I also loved your interview with Pure Green Magazine 🙂
    Thanks so much for sharing.

  3. Kristin says:

    Happy I spotted this yesterday afternoon. We LOVED it paired with roasted cauliflower and steamed green beans! YUM. Thanks!!

  4. These little chickpea flatbreads look divine & are SO perfect for me to make for my vegetarian family. I just love your photography of them too.

  5. Spicy Chickpeas & Fried Egg Flatbreads sounds and looks so delicious! 🙂

  6. Lea Andersen says:

    This is perfect! My husband is asking if I can prepare an egg dish for the Easter breakfast. I think, I found the perfect one. He is into chickpeas since it is good in stabilizing Blood Sugar and Low Glycaemic Index. Really thanks for this one, I’ll just add scotch eggs from stockton to make him a perfect treat!

  7. Oh, these look delicious! I’ve never made flatbreads with chickpea flour before, this is something I’m definitely up for!

  8. Oat&Sesme says:

    I can’t wait to try this one! I have been craving a savory morning dish and have some chickpea flour to use up! Thanks for the inspiration! Happy gardening!

  9. Oat&Sesame says:

    I can’t wait to try this one! I have been craving a savory morning dish and have some chickpea flour to use up! Thanks for the inspiration! Happy gardening!

  10. bryan flake says:

    I love spicy chick peas and flat bread individually. It’ll be fun to see how the different tastes work together. Thanks for sharing the recipes and steps. My only question is, what is za’atar and what does it taste similar to?
    http://www.klostermanbakery.com/products/flat-bread-thins-and-pita.php

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