Pane e Panelle
Rosticceria at Home: After-School Snacks & Palermo Street Food
Outside a Palermo market at noon, the hot oil spits, the batter crisps, and hungry crowds wait. Traditionally, making this at home meant frantically spreading boiling-hot chickpea polenta over a marble countertop before it solidified. Forget that mess. Whisk Bob's Red Mill chickpea flour, simmer the batter, and use a brilliant secret: a loaf pan. You pour, you chill, you slice. Tuck the salty fritters into a sesame-seeded bun, hit it with a wedge of lemon, and bite down to hear the toasted bread crunch as the sharp acid cuts the salt.
Before you start
Make the chickpea block up to three days in advance.
The loaf pan method splits the prep time perfectly for a busy schedule. Make the batter on a Sunday, stash the loaf pan in the fridge, and you can slice and fry fresh panelle in 10 minutes on a Tuesday night.
Ingredients
- chickpea flour500 g
- cold water1 1/2 l
- kosher salt2 tsp
- black pepper1/2 tsp
- fresh flat-leaf parsley1/4 cup
- neutral oil1 qt
- sesame seed buns6 large
- lemons2 large
Method
- 01
Sift the chickpea flour into the cold water off the heat, whisking vigorously and continuously.
Starting with cold water and sifting the flour is the undisputed secret to preventing lumps. Once perfectly smooth, whisk in the salt and black pepper.
- 02
Place the pot over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly with a sturdy wooden spoon, until the mixture pulls away from the sides.
As the mixture heats, it will suddenly begin to thicken into a dense, glossy polenta. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides to prevent sticking; this typically takes 15 to 30 minutes.
- 03
Immediately remove the pot from the heat and fold in the finely chopped parsley.
Do not cook the parsley over the heat, or it will lose its vibrant color and fresh flavor.
- 04
Pour the hot mixture into a parchment-lined 9x5-inch loaf pan and smooth the top.
Do this quickly, as the batter sets rapidly. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, let it cool to room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill completely for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- 05
Turn the cold, solid chickpea block onto a cutting board and slice it crosswise into quarter-inch pieces.
If the slices are too large for your buns, cut them in half to form smaller squares or rectangles.
- 06
Fry the panelle in an inch of 350-degree oil until they puff slightly and turn deeply golden brown.
Work in batches so you don't crowd the pan, cooking about 2 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- 07
Sprinkle the hot panelle generously with salt, pile them into toasted sesame buns, and serve immediately with fresh lemon wedges.
The lemon juice is non-negotiable. Squeezing it directly over the hot fritters cuts right through the richness of the fried chickpea flour.
Notes
Do not throw away the pot scrapings.
In Palermo, the hardened, crusty remnants stuck to the bottom of the pot are scraped out, formed into irregular little torpedoes, and fried. This zero-waste chef's treat is called rascatura and is prized for its ultra-crispy texture.
The bread is just as important as the fritter.
Authentic pane e panelle is served in a Mafalda, a sesame-encrusted durum wheat roll. A high-quality sesame seed bun or hoagie roll is the closest, most accessible American substitute. Do not use plain buns.