Panelle Sicilian chickpea fritters

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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.
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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.
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Transfer the chickpea mixture to a cutting board lined with parchment paper.
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Pour onto the parchment paper and spread with a knife until it is about 1/4 inch thick.
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Let the chickpea mixture cool at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
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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.
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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.
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In a large, deep pan, heat the vegetable oil or olive oil for frying the panelle.
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When the oil is very hot, each of the fritters needs to be fully immersed in hot oil for approximately 2 minutes, without turning.
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Depending on the size of your pan, you can cook several panelle at a time, but they should not touch each other while frying.
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Prep several plates with paper towels and remove each fried panelle carefully with tongs, draining off any excess oil, before placing on paper towels.
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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.
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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.

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes