My name is Cindy, and I’m a food writer, recipe developer and former professional cook living in Ottawa, Canada. I started Salt and Serenity in 2009, which means I’ve been testing recipes, photographing food and making a spectacular mess of my kitchen for a very long time.
I’m a firm believer that food should have big flavour and plenty of texture. I test my recipes obsessively—not because I’m a perfectionist (although my family may have opinions about that), but because I want them to work just as well in your kitchen as they do in mine.
I’ve been told that some of my recipes are a little long. Too many steps. Too much detail. Fair enough. But there’s a reason for that: I really want you to succeed. I’ve probably already made the mistake, so you don’t have to.
I tend to get cranky if I go more than a few days without baking. Several spin classes and weight training sessions a week and judicious amounts of salt help, but baking is what really keeps me serene.
For me, one of the best parts of cooking and baking is sharing what I’ve made with family and friends. My desert island food is salted caramel, I believe almost everything can benefit from a little crunch, and my favourite way to eat a chocolate chip cookie is straight from the freezer.
You can also find me on Instagram at @saltandserenity, where I share new recipes, behind-the-scenes kitchen experiments and whatever I’m currently obsessing over.
The final entry in my Socca Palooza is the classic Margherita; roasted cherry tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil. Start with some sweet little tomatoes, assorted colours are pretty.
Cut them in half, mix with olive oil, salt and a bit of minced garlic. Roast them for about 20 minutes. 
Top the soccas with roasted tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella. Pop it under the broiler to melt the cheese. Finish with fresh basil, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. 
This is a drippy messy socca. Serve with a knife, fork and lots of napkins and dig in. 
Thank you, Cindy!! I made socca using your recipe last night. It is easy and so delicious!! My plan had been to do a trial run to see if I could actually duplicate your round socca crusts, but I ran out of time. So, a short time before company arrived I started to pour batter. The first socca was too thin and impossible to flip without ripping. I panicked. Then, I switched to a smaller pan and a bit less batter, and the soccas were both easy and delicious! I put a variety of toppings (your recipes for socca versions 1-3 plus nectarine relish and grilled chicken) and let people be their own socca artists. The unanimous decision was that these recipes are keepers that need to be made again soon! p.s. Though I have made ricotta before, the linked recipe, with it’s lovely lemon flavor, was wonderful!
Wendy, so glad they were a success. Great idea to let everyone top their own soccas. A really fun party idea.
This pizza is quite distinctive. I found a unique yet can be paired to all pizzas out there. Pizza Night Wine from Theme Night Wines.