Italian · Sicily · snack

Pane e Panelle

Pane e Panelle reads citrus 7.4, sourness 6.7 and fruity 5.9 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Italian · Sicily snack, about 53 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 3.9 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 6.4 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 9.4 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 1.8 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 4.4 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 2.9 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Citrus 7.4 · Sourness 6.7 · Fruity 5.9 · Salinity 3.7 · Richness 3.6 · Nutty 2.6 · Herbaceous 2.6 · Umami 2.0 · Earthy 1.7 · Floral 1.6 · Warm Spice 1.6 · Sweetness 1.4 · Bitterness 0.9 · Heat 0.6

What's in it (8)

• chickpea flour — 250 g
• cold water — 750 g
• salt — 7 g
• freshly ground black pepper — 3 g
• flat-leaf parsley — 15 g
• sunflower oil — 644 g
• italian rolls — 400 g
• lemon — 65 g

Time & effort: about 53 min (23 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 133.4 kcal, 5.9 g protein, 2.7 g fat, 21.5 g carbs

Dietary: Vegan — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (6 steps)

1. Whisk the chickpea flour into the cold water in a heavy saucepan, off the heat, a little at a time, until there is not one lump left. Cold water and patience are the whole trick; hot water seizes the flour instantly.
2. Add the salt and pepper and set the pan over medium heat. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon for 12 to 15 minutes. The batter will thicken slowly, then all at once, and it is ready when it comes away from the sides of the pan in a single mass and a spoon stood in it stays upright. Undercooked batter tastes chalky and raw.
3. Beat in the parsley off the heat, then immediately spread the paste 3 mm thin on oiled marble, a cold baking tray or the back of oiled dinner plates, working fast with a wet palette knife before it sets. Leave 30 minutes to cool and firm.
4. Cut the set paste into rectangles about 8 cm by 5 cm, or the traditional triangles.
5. Heat the oil to 180 C, hot enough that a scrap of batter surfaces and blisters in 5 seconds. Fry the panelle in batches of six for 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until they puff slightly, blister and turn deep gold. Drain on paper and salt them the moment they leave the oil.
6. Stuff the hot panelle three or four deep into the split sesame rolls, squeeze over a lemon wedge and eat standing up, which is how they are sold from the friggitorie of the Ballarò and Vucciria markets.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Backhendl (Breadcrumbed Fried Chicken) — Austrian
• Brik a l'Oeuf — Tunisian
• Baked Lemon Fish — Greek
• Curried Beef Rice Bowl — Indian
• Spinach, Fennel And Pink Grapefruit Salad — French

Keep reading: what citrus, sourness, fruity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.