Chickpea Panelle with courgette and fennel salad

Palermo is famed for its street food culture- take a walk around its narrow streets and you’ll see (and hear) the Friggitorie or fry shops in full swing, churning out potato croquettes, fried aubergines and chickpea pancakes..

These pancakes are made with Gram (chickpea) flour, spices and water to form a batter and fried- often served stuffed inside a sesame seeded durum wheat bread bun, these are one of a few chickpea flour based specialties found in Sicilian cuisine originating form the Arab rule around 10C.

My version includes a fresh, crunchy fennel salad.

Serves 4

Pancake

225g chickpea- (gram flour)- sifted

750ml water

1 tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. dried chili flakes

½ bunch coriander- roughly chopped

4 sesame-seeded buns- cut in half

Sea salt and pepper for cooking

Salad

1 small head fennel- with fronds

1 small courgette, outside peeled

Juice of ½ lemon

40ml muscatel vinegar

40 ml extra virgin olive oil

Whisk together the water and flour until fully blended and season well. Heat a small pan over a medium heat, add the cinnamon, chilli flakes and cumin- toast lightly until fragrant and then transfer to the batter and stir in along with the chopped coriander. Place the mix into a saucepan over a medium heat and cook slowly, stirring as you go until the batter thickens and comes away from the side of the pan.

Grease a baking tin with oil, pour in the cooked batter (you ideally want a depth of about 0.5cm) and leave to fully cool before transferring to the fridge to chill. Finely slice the fennel on a mandolin or with a very sharp knife and then toss with seasoning, lemon juice and olive oil.

Upturn the tin and tip out the chickpea cake- cut into rectangles to be fried.

Heat the vegetables oil in a deep-sided pan to 170oc- drop a small piece of bread in- it should fizz immediately.

Carefully drop in the chickpea rectangles and fry until golden brown. Drain well on a kitchen towel, season with sea salt and serve in the buns with the fennel salad.