Known in sicily as panelle, these soft-yet-crunchy fritters are made by boiling chickpea gram flour, letting it cool, then cutting into squares and frying.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g) chickpea/gram flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to Make It
- Whisk the chickpea/gram flour into 1 litre/4¼ cups of water until there are no lumps, then season with the salt.
- Heat the batter gently in a saucepan, stirring constantly, until it boils and thickens. Simmer the mixture for about 15 minutes, whisking constantly. Stir in the parsley and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Pour onto the prepared baking sheet and smooth out the surface. The mixture should be no more than 1 cm/⅜ inches thick. Leave to cool for several hours to allow the mixture to solidify.
- Preheat the oven to 200˚C (400˚F) Gas 6.
- Cut the set batter into triangles, squares or, to make chunky chips, batons about the size of your largest finger.
- When the oven is hot, put the olive oil on a clean baking sheet and heat in the oven for a few minutes, then using a spatula, transfer the fritters to the hot oil, flipping over once to coat both sides with oil. Put in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until the fritters are crisp on the surface and starting to brown, then turn over and cook for another 10 minutes. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and black pepper and serve immediately.
