Panelle are delightful chickpea flour fritters, a Sicilian specialty, typical street food from Palermo. Today I present them in my Air Fryer version: the result is surprising! A healthier way to enjoy this delicious snack, maintaining the authentic taste and significantly reducing oil use, an excellent alternative for those who cannot consume fried foods or for those on a diet who want to indulge without sacrificing taste.
Panelle are made with chickpea flour, water, salt, pepper, and chopped parsley. The flour is dissolved in salted water, stirred during cooking until it becomes creamy. Usually, while hot, it is spread on a marble surface or smeared on small plates; for convenience, I used a loaf pan so once it cooled, I sliced it into the typical square shape of the panelle.
Following my advice, you can prepare crispy Panelle in the air fryer without missing the pan-fried version. You can enjoy them simply seasoned with salt or lemon, but the most common way to eat them is with vastedde or mafalde, typical semolina bread topped with sesame seeds. So, if you decide to make a sandwich with panelle, you can use soft bread, preferably with seeds. Often these sandwiches are stuffed, along with the panelle, with potato croquettes Air Fryer Potato Croquettes …my mouth is watering just talking about it, let’s go prepare the panelle.
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: for 500 g of chickpea flour
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Air Frying
- Cuisine: Italian Regional
- Region: Sicily
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- 500 g chickpea flour
- water (1 and 1/2 liters)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 bunch chopped parsley (fresh)
- to taste pepper
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Tools
- 1 Pot
- 1 Hand Whisk
- 1 Air Fryer
- 1 Loaf Pan 10×25 cm
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Steps
Pour the chickpea flour, salt, pepper, and water into a pot, stirring with a hand whisk. Place on the stove over moderate heat, stirring continuously
When the batter thickens, add the chopped parsley and continue to stir
You should obtain a creamy mixture
Pour into the loaf pan and let it cool
Remove the block from the loaf pan and on a cutting board or surface, cut it into not-too-thick slices
You can leave them rectangular or cut the slice in half
Grease the pan where you will cook them with olive oil and give a generous spray of oil
Cook at 392°F (200°C) for 10/12 minutes, to achieve a cooking similar to classic frying, spray the panelle with oil again halfway through cooking and continue until the panelle are golden on the surface
Salt and serve the panelle hot and freshly made
Perfect for filling the mafalde and if you want to indulge, add some potato croquettes😋😋
Tips for Air Fryer Panelle
As with all fried foods, the ideal is to consume the panelle hot and crispy, but if you have leftovers already cooked, you can store them at room temperature for a day and reheat them in the air fryer for a few minutes, spraying them first with a little oil; they will seem like freshly made. However, I do not recommend freezing them raw.
You can prepare the panelle in the mold in advance and cook them when needed
