Growing up in the Province of Sicily, Italy, not far from Palermo, chef was always surrounded by food. That meant huge family meals on Sundays (which took days to plan), fresh seafood from the closest harbour, and a .
“We believe that food is the medicine for everything. So if you’re sick just eat something. If you’re sad, just eat something,” she says.
While this had a massive impact on who she is today, she was still a bit of a picky eater as a child, favouring certain pasta shapes and sizes over others, and preferring her meat grilled on charcoal. One dish that she loved back then, and still just as much now, was . These fritters made with chickpea flour are a staple in Palermo, where they’re sold by street vendors and eaten with a squeeze of lemon or in a sandwich.
“It's just chickpeas, but once you fry it, it lifts it up. And then we always add lemon juice to it, and black pepper, and the acidity will cut through the oiliness of the panelle, and it makes it so tasty. It's vegan as well, and gluten-free. So it's very dietary-friendly and it's very cheap,” she says.
While some families make panelle at home, she would most often get hers from a deli or a panellaro, a street vendor who fries it to order. Panelle can be served alone or in a sandwich, often in a mafalde bun covered in sesame seeds. If you’re in the mood for a carb-fest, you can add potato croquettes to the sandwich. Or if you’d rather have panelle at home, you can buy the dough raw and fry it yourself (ideally in your outdoor kitchen, in true Sicilian style).
The dish is believed to come from the Arabs, who between the 9th and the 11th century. Corso explains that it was initially baked in vertical ovens, as a filling dish for large groups. “Once they started frying it, it became a lot more popular because it tastes so much better. And I guess that never changed and, from at least the 12th century, we’ve been frying panelle the exact same way,” she adds.
Panelle and lemon are an essential pairing. Source: Lorena Corso
Corso started making panelle with a friend in her early twenties. Then, when she started working as a chef, panelle would always find its way on her menus.
She took over the kitchen at Melbourne's in March. The panelle has quickly become a favourite, with many diners ordering a second plate straight after their first.
Panelle: enjoy it in a pile, with bread, or a squeeze of lemon. Source: Paola Bacchia
From at least the 12th century, we’ve been frying panelle the exact same way.
She adds fennel seeds to her dough, a reference to a type of bread that panelle is sometimes served on, and makes a dip of whipped lemon ricotta.
“The reason why I do the whipped lemon ricotta is that when it's the new oil season [in Sicily], people have that same bread with fresh ricotta and then some people add panelle as well,” she explains.
Lorena Corso joined Enzo in March. Source: Masina Coulter
“I'm not making this into a fine-dining dish with gelatines, foam or anything like that. I think it's still pretty simple but you can get the gist of why people would pair it with ricotta and lemon. And you can always order bread separately – so if you feel adventurous enough and you want to try the panelle with bread, you can do it.”
Her menu also features other Sicilian staples like charcoal-grilled Sicilian sausage (made especially for her by a butcher), which comes with salsa verde, pickled onions and cime di rapa (when in season), as well as pasta made fresh every day.
There are many ways to enjoy and serve panelle. Source: Supplied
“This and the panelle will probably never come off the menu,” she assures.
Sicilian chickpea fritters with lemon (panelle Siciliane con limone)
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- 100 g chickpea flour
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
- Canola or sunflower oil
- Lemons for serving
- Bread rolls, optional
- Fresh ricotta cheese or Parmesan shavings, optional
Method
- Line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper or simply spray it with canola oil and set aside.
- Sift the chickpea flour into a heavy-based pot (around 20-24cm wide). Add the fennel seeds, pepper and salt.
- Add 300 ml cold water, a little at the time, to the pot and whisk until the mixture is fully combined and smooth in texture.
- Place the pot on a low-medium heat and keep stirring till the mixture becomes a little thicker and creamy. Add chopped parsley and, with the help of a spatula, keep stirring the mixture.
- Turn the heat to medium and continue stirring with the spatula till the mixture becomes really thick almost like mashed potatoes (around 10 minutes).
- Bring the loaf tin closer and quickly pour the mixture into it, smoothing it down with a palette knife or another clean spatula.
- Cover the mixture with cling film – press it down, gently tapping the loaf tin on the table to get rid of any air bubbles.
- Place the tin in the fridge for at least 2 hours until it is set – hard, but bouncy to the touch.
- Flip the loaf tin upside down on a chopping board to unloosen your panelle mixture.
- With a vegetable knife, cut the panelle mixture in thin slices (around half a centimetre each).
- Pour canola or sunflower oil into a deep-fryer or a shallow frying pan until you have a pool of oil that's 4-5 cm in depth.
- Heat the oil to 180-190˚C and place just a few panelle into the oil – don’t crowd the panelle, as they won’t cook properly.
- Cook the panelle in batches until golden: about 2 minutes each side, flipping them with the help of kitchen tongs.
- Place cooked fritters on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Season panelle with salt and serve them with a nice wedge of lemon – so you can squeeze lemon juice over the fritters before consuming them.
- Alternatively, you can place panelle in a soft bread roll and enjoy them as a sandwich. You can add some fresh ricotta cheese or Parmesan shavings, too.
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