members recipes

Ingredients
approx• 1200ml water
2 heaped cups of chickpea flour
A few tbsps of chopped flat leaf parsley
Olive oil for frying
Plenty of salt and a little bit of pepper to season

Method
[b]Panelle are one of the most popular snacks in Palermo and taste delicious straight out of the pan, hot and crispy. Serve them on italian/french bread just as they are or try topping them with more fresh parsley and freshly ground black pepper, my personal favourite.[/b]

1. In a large saucepan/heavy based pot, bring the water to the boil, take the pan off the heat and add the chickpea flour bit by bit, stirring the whole time.
2. Once you\'ve added all the flour, return the pan to the heat and cook over a low flame for about 30-40mins, stirring all the time (this is the hardest bit because the mixture gets quite thick !) You\' ll know its ready when the mixture comes away from the sides of the pan and the \'dough\' will have a nutty aroma.
3.Add the parsley and season well with salt (about 2tsps ) and some pepper.
4. Pour the mixture onto a wet marble surface (or a lightly greased worktop) and spread out with a spatula (just over 1cm thick).
5. Allow to cool then cut into squares/rectangles.
6. Shallow fry in olive oil until golden and crispy.Serve hot.

[i]Tip ! Another way of forming the Panelle is to pour the mixture into a small rectangular cake tin, covering it with clingfilm and weighing the mixture down a little. It\'ll keep well in the fridge for a couple of days and you can then just cut slices of panelle as and when you need them.[/i]