Making Panelle


Sicily is famous for its street food and one of the most popular is Panelle which is a Sicilian fast food snack available in bars, from street vendors and are occasionally found in restaurants.

Panelle (or panella di ceci) are Sicilian fritters made from chickpea flour and other ingredients.

They are popular in Palermo and are often eaten between slices of pane (bread) or in a roll like a sandwich and as such become known as Pane e Panelle.

A visit to Palermo would not be complete without sampling them.

Although chickpeas (ceci) are thought to have been cultivated by the Ancient Greeks and Romans, Panelle themselves are believed to be of Arabic origin. Panelle means 'Little Breads'. In Sicilian dialect they are called Paneddi and they are known in Spanish as Garbanzos.

The Panelle is made by pouring chickpea flour into boiling water with salt and herbs, typically parsley or fennel seeds and they are then cooked in bubbling hot oil for just a few minutes.

Panelle are easy to make at home if you have the patience for constant stirring.

A while ago we were watching one of our favourite UK chefs Rick Stein in his television series "Rick Stein's Long Weekends". Rick is a big fan of Sicily and Sicilian food and in this particular episode we were watching he was in Palermo. It was not his first visit to Palermo and the city was previously featured 10 years earlier in his "Mediterranean Escapes", but in this episode he featured the bustling markets and increasingly popular street food culture.

Rick is a big fan of the powerful novel Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) by author Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa that chronicles the changes in Sicilian life and society during the period when Garibaldi swept through Sicily with his forces to overthrow the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

We have watched this episode several times and one of our favourite parts is when Rick visits Palazzo Lanza Tomasi the home of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and meets the Duchess of Palma, Nicoletta Polo Lanza Tomasi, daughter in law to the author. Together in the grand surroundings of the Palazzo, Rick and the Duchess make Panelle together and they are the perfect team.

The Duchess is a wonderful character and after making the Panelle, Rick says to her "I know you probably wouldn't agree with me but I think this would go well with a cold beer" to which Nicoletta replies "I think I have one", he then exclaims "I didn't even know Duchesses had beer in their homes" and she responds "Duchesses have everything my dear".

Every time we watch this episode, which is quite a few times now, I always say to my husband I really want to have a go at making Panelle.

So a couple of weeks ago I had my first attempt.

Completely inspired I used 300g of chickpea flour, 900 ml of water, a teaspoon of salt and for flavours I added my favourite Sicilian herb fennel (I am obsessed with the flavour of fennel).

First I prepared a shallow baking tray with olive oil.

Rick and the Duchess
(Photo credit: www.butera28.it)
Following the Duchesses method I poured the chickpea flour, water, fennel seeds and salt into a saucepan and mixed it well. Then brought the saucepan to the boil whisking continuously, heating, beating and stirring until thick and creamy like polenta dissolving the lumps and scraping the bottom of the pan as per her instructions "Stirring, Stirring and Stirring".

With the mixture thickened and spluttering I removed it from the heat and poured it into the baking tray, in the programme the Duchess uses an old oil can.

I pressed the mixture down to make it even with a thickness of around 5mm and then put it in the fridge to cool down.

Once cooled I cut the mixture into rectangles ready to be immerged in the hot oil that I had just prepared. Alternatively you can use a deep-fat fryer.

After around 5 minutes and once golden brown the Panelle was ready to be drained on kitchen paper.

Traditionally in Sicily they would be turned onto a marble worktop to cool them down quicker.

With a squeeze of Sicilian lemon juice we enjoyed our home made Panelle with of course a bottle of cold beer.

Well if its good enough for the Duchess who are we to disagree?

The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
is available on www.amazon.com

Self Catering Apartments are available in Palazzo Lanza Tomasi
A day cooking with the Duchess can be booked by appointment
visit www.butera28.it for more information 

Rick Stein's book "Long Weekends"
is available on www.amazon.com

As for PALERMO
Why not book a Long Weekend in this fabulous city?
If so you might enjoy these Blog posts:

"An Afternoon in Palermo"
https://whitealmond-privatesicily.blogspot.com/2018/07/an-afternoon-in-palermo.html

"My Top 35 Palermo Tips"
https://whitealmond-privatesicily.blogspot.com/2018/08/my-top-35-palermo-tips.html



MAKING PANELLE
Photo Gallery

Whisking

Stirring, stirring and stirring

Spreading


Or Put in a Old Tin Can

Frying

The final product ...
The Perfect Panelle 

If you enjoyed reading this I invite you to read my most popular post to date
"Making Arancini"
http://whitealmond-privatesicily.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/making-arancini.html


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by Jo Thomas

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Love Sarah & Daisy x


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