the people's republic of sole

Thought I'd share another Sicilian (read - Palermitan) staple. The Aglio e Olio recipe thread I made has gone, but you can find it everywhere and if you haven't tried it out, I recommend it heavily.

Panelli are flat square chickpea fritters that were introduced to Sicily by either the Moors or the Arabs in pre-medieval times. It's real Palermitan fast food (along with Stighioli...aka intestines) and is most commonly eaten in a bap or baguette or similar.

You need...

Gram/ Chick pea flour
Water

And that's about it....apart from vegetable oil for deep frying, salt for seasoning and dried oregano & parsely - but they're optional.

Chickpea flour aka Gram flour, as Asians call it, is becoming more popular in large 'grocery' stores - probably in the world food section or something, but if you can't get it there you can find it in asian food shops - it's very common in Indian cooking. I haven't put any measurements because it really depends on how much you want to make.. I'd suggest starting out with like 2 cups full of chickpea flour.

Ok. So take your flour and you'll want to whisk it or something to get rid of any lumps then pour it in a largeish saucepan. Now slowly add the water - My father always says to double the amount of flour you put in - as in if you put in 2 cups of flour you'll want 4 cups of water. Add the water gradually and stir the mixture all the time to avoid getting a lumpy mix. Add a healthy few pinches of salt and the herbs, if using. Turn the heat on the hob low-medium and stir the mixture constantly as it sticks to the bottom like a bitch. Let it heat until it starts to thicken nicely - shouldn't take long, about 10 minutes maybe.

Now pour the mixture out into a flat (lightly oiled) baking tray or similar surface and flatten it out a little if it needs some help, but don't go too flat - half a cm or there abouts is an ideal height. Leave it to cool and solidify for a while say 15-20 minutes.

Come back to it and with a knife cut it into squares a few inches across - or size it to fit the bread you're going to put it in... if you are. Now heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in a deepish frying pan (I always use a wok) and get it as hot as possible - then deep fry the squares 2-3 at a time, turning them once (gently) until they become golden brown and crispy. Remove them from the oil and pat them on a piece of kitchen towel to remove excess oil. Then yom nom nom

I like to serve them in a bap with some rocket or other green leaves and a touch of pepper.

damn i got chickpeas soaking right now at home but never seen or heard of this chickpea flour.. gonna have to search for it..
sounds very tasty but i dont fuck with deep fry anything at my crib.. im gonna have to ask nicely for my girl to make this for me.. hah.

how good would these be dipped in hummus, and topped with roasted crunchy chickpeas!

Ha, I have a pack of roasted yellow chick peas right next to me now. They last ages for me as I'm not so keen on them on their own. I reckon if I ground the f*** outta them I'd get something similar to chick pea flour.. I've got enough so I'll probably try it sometime.

Panelle would definitely be good with some hummus and salad. You sure like your chick peas huh