Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Panelle (Chickpea Fries) with Dipping Sauce

Panelle (in Italy) or Panisse (in France), are "fries" made with the same chickpea flour as farinata, but the preparation is quite different.  They are tasty with any number of dipping sauces including a spicy aioli or a smoky tomato sauce.  For our fries, we made a quick tahini dip with garlic, smoky paprika and red pepper.

You need to plan ahead a bit because the dough must chill for at least one hour before cooking.  If you like to prepare things over the weekend to use later on a busy weeknight, this is a great recipe.  We refrigerated the batter for three days, and the fries were fantastic. 
Chickpea Fries

Ingredients

1      cup              farina
1      tsp               sea salt
1/4   tsp               black pepper
1      tsp               smoky paprika
                            pinch of cayenne pepper
2      Tbs             olive oil
                            vegetable oil for frying
                            

Procedure
  1.  Boil 2 cups of water, then add farina, salt, peppers, paprika and olive oil.  Whisk well constantly for about 1 minute.
  2. Remove and spread in a 9 x 13" pan or similar, smoothing surface.  Cool at room temperature for about half an hour, then press plastic wrap directly onto dough and refrigerate at least an hour, or up to 3 days.
  3. Heat oil for frying (we used our deep fryer) to 375°.  Cut fries into strips, then fry.  When golden brown, remove to paper towels to drain, sprinkling with more sea salt.
  4. Serve with dipping sauce of your choice.

StumbleUpon.com

16 comments:

  1. I love this idea... what an awesome alternative to fries.

    ReplyDelete
  2. These are terrific! The process reminds me of polenta, but I can;t imagine the flavor of these! I am going to have to make these Robin!! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Excellent idea! Those fries look scrumptious and I can't wait to try them!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, honestly... WOW. I definitely am trying these, Robin. I am always looking for ways to feel less guilty about my fry addiction!

    Love the presentation in the paper cone, too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. These look so addictive! Love your photos.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a creative idea! I've got some chickpea flour in my pantry from another dish, so I'm super curious to try these!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Beautiful, I love those even if fried!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ooooh, I LOVE chickpea flour, I just started making flatbread with it, I can't even imagine how addictive this is. SO delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, beautiful fries. They look really addicting.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow wow wow these look so damn good! I love farinata and I love fries and I suspect I would LOVE these. Good grief I want some now.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow, these look fantastic. I'm not a huge fan of frying in the house, though. I wonder if I could bake these?

    ReplyDelete
  12. I wonder if this would work with purred Chick peas? Is chickpea flour the same as cream of wheat? When i google it it says it's also knows as cream of wheat

    ReplyDelete
  13. I would like some clarification on the farina. It's coming up as cream of wheat for me

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm also confused about the farina -- is it the same thing as gram flour/besan (two names I know for chickpea flour)?

    Or...is it Cream of Wheat??

    ReplyDelete
  15. Is farina just chickpea flour? Sorry a but confused!

    ReplyDelete

Comments welcome

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.