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Panelle Sicilian chickpea fritters

A Crispy Fritter Street Food Snack Easy Recipe of Arabic origin from Palermo, Sicily. Panelle Recipe Served in a Typical Sicilian Mafalde Bread and Eaten like a Sandwich.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
35 mins
Servings: 20 panelle
Calories: 699 kcal
Course: Bread
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

  • 300 300 grams chickpea flour
  • 900 900 grams water
  • 1 1 teaspoon salt
  • vegetable oil enough for deep frying
  • 1 1 lemon optional
  • fresh parsley optional
  • ground black pepper optional
  • salto optional

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. In a pot or large sauce pan with high sides, add chickpea flour and salt and mix together with a wooden spoon. Add the water a little at a time, while whisking all the flour and water together, until the mixture is smooth and free of lumps.
  2. Under the pot or large saucepan, turn on the flame and set to medium heat. Stirring constantly with a whisk, let the chickpea mixture thicken. It should form a sort of polenta that comes off the sides of the pot. The mixture must be compact and not liquid, so stirring will become difficult. Turn off heat when you can no longer stir.
  3. Transfer the chickpea mixture to a cutting board lined with parchment paper.
  4. Pour onto the parchment paper and spread with a knife until it is about 1/4 inch thick.
  5. Let the chickpea mixture cool at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
  6. Lay a second sheet of parchment paper on the surface of the chick pea dough and lightly roll over it with a rolling pin without applying much pressure, but just to create a uniform surface. Shape the edges so as not to waste panelle dough and let it cool completely before the next step.
  7. Using a square, rectangular or triangular cookie cutter, cut the panelle dough into single fritters until all the dough is used. If you prefer, you can simply use a knife to create the shape you want.
  8. In a large, deep pan, heat the vegetable oil or olive oil for frying the panelle.
  9. When the oil is very hot, each of the fritters needs to be fully immersed in hot oil for approximately 2 minutes, without turning.
  10. Depending on the size of your pan, you can cook several panelle at a time, but they should not touch each other while frying.
  11. Prep several plates with paper towels and remove each fried panelle carefully with tongs, draining off any excess oil, before placing on paper towels.
  12. Sprinkle the chickpea fritters with a dash of salt. You can choose to top them with lemon, fresh parsley or ground black pepper if desired. For lemon juice, squeeze the juice of one lemon and drizzle on top. For fresh parsley, use minced parsley to sprinkle on top. And for pepper, use a fresh pepper grinder to top with ground black pepper.
  13. Place several fritters in one of the Sicilian style buns with sesame seeds and serve hot as a panelle sandwich. You can decorate the plate with chopped parsley or lemon wedges.

Notes

  • If you prefer a less oily variation, you can bake panelle in the oven at 400°F on parchment paper for about 15 minutes, then turn on the broiler for the last few minutes.

Nutrition Information

Calories 699kcal (35%) Carbohydrates 105g (35%) Protein 41g (82%) Fat 12g (18%) Saturated Fat 1g (5%) Sodium 2482mg (103%) Potassium 1565mg (45%) Fiber 19g (76%) Sugar 20g (40%) Calcium 114mg (11%) Iron 9.2mg (51%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 20panelle

Amount Per Serving

Calories 699

% Daily Value*

Calories 699kcal 35%
Carbohydrates 105g 35%
Protein 41g 82%
Fat 12g 18%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Sodium 2482mg 103%
Potassium 1565mg 33%
Fiber 19g 76%
Sugar 20g 40%
Calcium 114mg 11%
Iron 9.2mg 51%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.