Don't dis the Bodo's

The full weight of being the only child left in the house came crashing down on Brad this morning. Mom and I took Brad for his UVA college visit. On the way over, Mom decided we should spend the day playing a game to see who could work a selected word into the conversation the most times. Unsurprisingly, Mom picked "arse." I grudgingly went with "dumbass," for the obvious reason. Brad refused to play, which was also not a shock.

As bad as that was, it was the high point of the morning for Brad. In addition to being boring, the "biggest problem" with the UVA presentation for Brad came right at the start, when the presenter gave lunch options for the attendees and had the nerve to list Roots Natural Kitchen first, then Take It Away, then another sandwich place we never heard of third. Then the presenter finally got around to listing Bodo's as the fourth option, which was the ultimate insult to Brad. In fairness, the presenter did say that you have to go to Bodo's for an authentic Charlottesville experience if you've never been here before. But it was already too late for Brad when he heard three other options listed before the mighty Bodo's.

I've been wanting to try these chickpea crepes forever and finally got around to making some today after we were done torturing Brad. Mom and I snarfed three of these like candy the second they came out of the oven. (Brad was upstairs playing video games online with his friends. You snooze, you lose, dude. And he admitted today that he doesn't read my blog anyway, so he'll never know. Shh, don't tell!) Mom was bummed when I told her I couldn't whip up a few more right away because the batter has to rest for a few hours. And how cool is it to have a recipe for something called socca?

Socca

(Chickpea Crepes)

Adapted from David Lebovitz

1 cup (130 grams) chickpea flour (aka garbanzo bean flour)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (280 grams/ml) water
¾ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for serving
⅛ teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
freshly ground black pepper

    1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, water, ¾ teaspoon salt, cumin, and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until completely smooth. The batter will be thin. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel, and let the batter rest on the counter for 2 hours.
    2. When ready to cook, place an oven rack in the second-highest position, and heat the broiler. Pour 2 teaspoons oil into a 9- or 10-inch cast iron skillet or nonstick cake pan, and place the pan in the oven to preheat.
    3. Tilt the hot pan to distribute the oil evenly. Pour or ladle one-third of the batter (a little less than a 6-ounce ladleful) into the pan. Broil until the crepe is set and the top is blistered, about 4–5 minutes.
    4. Carefully remove the blazing-hot pan from the oven, and transfer the crepe to a plate. Sprinkle generously with salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Tear into pieces, and serve immediately. Cook two more crepes the same way, adding 2 teaspoons of oil to the pan for each crepe. Makes 3 large crepes.