Pour the cold water into a large saucepan… and sift in the chickpea flour… then stir vigorously with a wire whisk to avoid any lumps. Make sure you’re using cold water, otherwise it will go lumpy. Continue to stir and sift in the flour. When the mixture is smooth, with no lumps, turn on the heat… to medium, add salt and pepper… and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

The mixture is simmering, it’s critical that you keep stirring vigorously, to keep it from sticking to the pan and forming lumps. If there are any lumps, you can use an immersion blender, but reduce the heat to low. It will take at least 10 minutes from the time it boils.

The chickpea mixture is ready, now remove from the heat and add the parsley, stir, and begin to shape the panel. In Sicily, these fritters are spread onto wooden rectangles, but we can use small plastic plates, about 4-4 ½ inches (10-12 cm) in diameter; spread a small amount of the mixture onto each plate, to a thickness of 1/5-1/10 inch (2-3 mm). When the parsley has been incorporated, place cling film in direct contact with the mixture, because it hardens as it cools, making it difficult to spread. So take a spoonful of the mixture… and spread onto a plate; create a thin layer, without making holes. If the mixture has hardened too much and it’s not spreadable, you can cut it into pieces and fry it.

The mixture has been spread onto the plates, so now let it cool and set for about 30 minutes, until you can peel it off the plate.

The panelle has cooled and separated easily from the plate… so fry in plenty of vegetable oil, I am using peanut oil, until nice and golden brown; then drain and place on kitchen paper.

The panelle are done, keep in mind that it’s Sicilian street food, traditionally served in round or oval sesame seed buns. So fill the buns with your chickpea fritters and remember that, if you have any leftover mixture or it has hardened too much, you can press it into a baking pan, cut into slices or squares, fry and serve as a snack.

Serve and Enjoy