The chip-butties of Sicily!
Excuse the munted photograph ... some days it's just how it is!
Ingredients
—750ml (US 1.5 pint / UK 1.3 pint) cold water 250g (8 ½ oz) chickpea flour (besan) ¼ tsp sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling Olive oil for deep frying
Method
—1 Put the water in a heavy-based saucepan. Sift the chickpea flour over the water a little at a time whisking it in with a large wire whisk as you do so (it’s a two-handed operation). Whisk constantly, and if lumps form, beat them out. Add salt.
2 Set pan over a medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and starts ‘bubbling and plopping’, about 7-10 minutes. Have ready 3 dinner-size plates rinsed with cold water. Pour mixture onto the plates, dividing it evenly, and spread out each mound thinly with a spatula until it coats the entire plate. Leave until cool (it can be prepared an hour or so before frying).
3 Cut into triangles and deep-fry at 180°C (350°F) until golden and crisp (don’t let the panelle overbrown or they will taste burnt). Remove from oil with a large slotted spoon and drain on a cake rack set over a tray. Immediately sprinkle with sea salt and serve hot.
Recipe Notes
Chickpea flour, also known as besan, is a high-protein, gluten-free flour made from ground chickpeas. It can be used as a thickener in stews, soups and sauces, added to vegetable or meat mixtures to help them bind together and is used in flatbreads, fritters (Indian pakoras) and pancakes, and in gluten-free baking.
See Three Seven Two restaurant’s panelle here
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