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Way back in 2008, probably before some of you were born, I posted a recipe for Panisses, chickpea flour fritters. They weren’t so well known outside of the south of France, and even in Paris, people don’t really know what they are. So it was fun introducing these Mediterranean specialties to a wider audience, even if some readers were scratching their heads as to how to get the main ingredient; chickpea flour.
Nowadays, with gluten-free baking more popular, chickpea flour is easy to get and a recent trip to Marseille, where they’re sold at seaside stands (like the one above), prompted me to make them at home again, and update the recipe with additional tips I picked up.

Making the batter for panisses is similar to making polenta, and just as easy. I don’t know if there is any “official” shape they’re supposed to be. In the south of France, they sometimes fashion the panisse mixture into thick logs with molds, then slice them into rounds (or half-rounds) for frying. In Jacques Médecin’s iconic book, Cuisine Niçoise, he calls for the cook to oil a dozen small saucers and use those to mold the panisse mixture, which is later cut into baton-like shapes, which are more irregular (but kinda fun) due to the circular saucers.

My sous-tasse (saucer) game isn’t as strong as his – I only have three, and I don’t think the dark blue one counts – so I use a 9-inch (23cm) square cake pan, which does the job nicely. If you do go to Nice or Marseille, you can still sometimes find them sold in disks with the signature circular marks of the indentations of saucers in shops, ready to fry. To be authentic, they should only be made of chickpea flour (like their cousin, socca), although I horrified a Niçoise friend when I told her one packet I saw at an épicerie (food shop) near her town listed wheat flour as an ingredient.

Deep-frying is generally a recipe deal-breaker for me. Any recipe that says, “Heat 4 quarts of oil in a pot…”, I turn the page or click away as fast as I can. So I prepare a nice bain of olive oil, a bath if you will, that’s deep enough to give them a nice golden exterior and keep them from sticking, and use that rather than a bottle of olive oil. It works perfectly.

As mentioned, when I first wrote this post, chickpea flour was difficult to find and was most easily obtained by a trip to a shop that sold ingredients for Indian or Middle Eastern cooking (where it’s called gram or besan.) But some of it is quite coarse and sometimes it’s made from roasted chickpeas, neither of which you want here.

With a rise and interest in gluten-free baking, chickpea flour (also called garbanzo flour) is easy to find at natural food stores and I get mine in Paris at Biocoop or Naturalia, where it’s labeled farine de pois chiche and you can find it in Italian food shops labeled farina di ceci too. You want to use unroasted chickpea flour that’s finely milled, as shown below. You can also get it via mail order from Bob’s Red Mill and Amazon, and for DIYers, there are recipes for making it yourself.

Because panisses come from the south of France, the natural accompaniment is rosé, although for those not imbibing, ice-cold lemonade works well too. Americans who come to Paris wonder where all the ice in France is, and I’m here to tell you that it’s all down in the south, where people plunk a cube or two in their rosé, but also sometimes in their white and red wine, too. Far from being très américain, café waiters often automatically bring customers a little bucket of ice with your drink, and if they don’t, they’ll do it on request. I’m writing a bit more about that in an upcoming newsletter, but my general rule of thumb is that if the wine is €10/$10 or less, you can put ice in it : ) As for panisses, I advise you to stick to the script and keep them as simple as possible, and serve them with flaky sea salt and pepper, which is the best way possible.

Panisses

I fried my panisses in olive oil, as is traditional, in my cast iron skillet and it's a little hard to tell you exactly how much to use but you want enough so that the panisses won't stick. This makes about 36 panisses. A commenter a while back noted they grilled them, which is likely possible. We can't grill in Paris as it's not authorized (I think it's because they are worried about fires), but if you want to give it a go, you can likely brush them with olive oil and cook them that way. If you do, let us know how they come out in the comments.
Servings 8 servings
  • 2 1/4 cups (250g) chickpea flour
  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 quart (a scant liter) water
  • olive oil, for frying
  • coarse salt and freshly-cracked pepper, for serving
  • Lightly oil a 9-inch (23 cm) square cake pan, or similar sized vessel.
  • Pour the chickpea flour in a medium saucepan along with the salt and olive oil. Add half of the water and stir with a sturdy whisk until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the rest of the water.
  • Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently with the whisk until it just begins to boil and thicken. Reduce the heat to low-to-medium, and continue to cook, stirring with the whisk (or a wooden spoon or spatula) until the mixture thickens and holds its shape, and pulls away from the side of the pan, about 10 minutes. It should resemble stiff, sticky mashed potatoes.
  • Immediately scrape the mixture into the oiled pan, smooth the top, and let cool. It may be difficult to get the top smooth, so do it as quickly as you can. You can use a offset spatula dipped in water to help smooth the top, and once you've smoothed it as best as you can, fold a kitchen towel on the counter and drop the pan a few times on the towel to help smooth it out even further. Let cool completely at room temperature.
  • To fry the panisses, unmold the solidified mixture on a cutting board and slice into three rectangles. Then use a knife to cut 3/4-inch (2cm) batons.
  • In a heavy-duty skillet, heat 1/3 to 1/2 inch (1,5 cm) of olive oil. Don't be too parsimonious with the olive oil. When shimmering hot, fry the panisses in batches, not crowding them in the pan. Once the bottom is nicely browned and crisp on the bottom, turn with tongs, frying the panisses, turning them once each side is browned, until they're deep golden brown on each side. They'll take at least 5 minutes to fry them and the first batch will cook slower than subsequent batches.
  • Remove the panisses from the pan and drain on paper towels or on a brown paper bag, sprinkling them very generously with salt and pepper. Don’t be stingy with either. Continue frying the rest of the panisses, heating more oil in the pan as needed.

Notes

Notes:
Serve the panisses warm.
While it's traditional to serve panisses just with salt and pepper, one place I went to in Marseille served panisses with harissa mayonnaise. So if you want to liven things up, mix some harrisa with mayonnaise, to taste, and use that as a dip.
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94 comments

    • A

    That crepe like thing with the paste is normal – it’s like the layer of “skin” that forms when you heated milk and let it settle for a while. That seems to be happening with the chickpea flour. It’s just the skin on the top I think. Nothing really wrong.

    • Michelle in NZ

    Panisses, yum. So what was cooked on the grill?

    Meanwhile I spent the evening of the 4th here in NZ with a school friend who lives just south of Paris. We celebrated our catch up (after 26 years) and laughed, a lot

    I love most things made with chickpea flour and then fried. Such a more-ish texture and taste.

    • SpecialEd

    “Bully” for you! I’m going to put on some Gershwin (American In Paris) and think about incorporating your recipe into today’s BBQ/grilling! I use a ceramic cooker/roaster, sort of based on a Tandoor.

    • Jeremy

    I tried Panisse at work, they wouldn’t or couldn’t get it, go figure? So I settled on making a regular polenta frite with goat cheese, really nice, will give the panisse another try, maybe just at home!

    • Vegeyum Ganga

    Oh I love besan, and these look absolutely delicious.

    • Joan

    Hey, you’re a week too late: I was in paris last week and I could have brought you some farina di ceci from Milan… next time?
    Joan

    • David

    Jeremy: I definitely think you should give them another shot. But if you can find Italian chick pea flour, which you probably can in NYC (and believe me, I checked in every health food shop and Italian épicerie in Paris) if I could find it, I would use it.

    Joan: Deal!

    A: I wasn’t worried about it. It was just odd lying there in the bottom of the pan after I’d let it soak for a while.

    I was actually tempted to pull it off and fry it up, but reconsidered and realized that probably wasn’t such a great idea.

    • Jessica

    I’ve never had these and they look/sound delicious. I’m going to be making these very, very soon.

    • Jude

    I always stock chickpea flour for Indian flatbreads, but also for this and socca. Gives my cast iron skillet a workout :)
    Simple but delicious.

    • elra

    “the quantity of oil in the pan should be nearly the same amount of the rosé you’re drinking as you fry them up”
    LOL!!!!!!!!!!

    • elra

    David,
    Forgot to mention that I am the proud owner of cast iron skillet, mine is probably already 20 yrs old, getting shinier then ever!

    • Katie B.

    Do the panisses hold together better than a polenta finger? I had a devil of a time with mine a few weeks ago and I’d love to try again… I’m just not sure what I’m doing wrong..

      • Cynthia

      This is someone from the future writing. From the year 2021 to be exact. I love old cast iron. I’m the proud owner of a 12” cast iron pan that belonged to an ancestor whose father fought in the Civi War.

    • Patrick R

    Looks great! I actually keep some besan around that I use for making pakoras. Now I might have another use for it. It’s a pretty big bag, after all.

    • Milena

    I’ll give this recipe a try. For some reason, I loved your olive oil measure standard. I do believe this will be the start of me measuring many things by the amount of wine inside the glass I hold in my hand. WHO needs measuring cups anyway?

    • Jill

    They gave us free “fourth of July” wine and cheese at the Paris crew hotel, so we all imbibed. As usual, whenever anyone asked where I keep getting the great recipes and dining recommendations…Try saying “David Lebovitz” after three or four glasses of wine.

    • Charlene

    Thank you so much for trying (and sharing) a recipe! I may be thoroughly sinful and serve these with an aioli some time.
    Best regards,
    Charlene

    • Meg

    David, you do know at least one other person who has a grill in Paris – and you have been invited many times to enjoy it! Hope you can make it over for a barbecue before the end of the month…just name your day!

    • Jeremy

    David, I can get the chickpea flour here, I gave as a gift to my barber who is Italian and lived in Genoa. The Italians make a similar sort of pannise/socca called if I remember correctly, farinata.,(I will check that, Dan Lepard has the recipe in his book.)
    I will try to do them again, maybe not at work but when I go to Istanbul this august to visit Dilara Erbay of Abracadabra restaurant, will tell you all about it when I post the story on my blog!

    Cheers.

    • Fred

    I tried making panisse several weeks ago when you first mentioned it. What am I missing? Totally unimpressed. Think I’ll stick to polenta.

      • Steve

      Needs more seasoning? I found the texture to be perfect!

    • juliecache

    David,

    I just made your 2005 cherry jam recipe (yay for archives). Thank you for the plate test photo. My jam, your recipe, rocks! We picked about 3 gallons worth of cherries from my sister’s tree. Thanks for keeping your site!

    • pam

    I’ve always wondered how much oil to use when pan frying instead of deep frying, thanks for giving me a measurement that I can use!

    • Mari

    I wonder if I can add some kind of additional flavoring without burning said flavor. I’m thinking rosemary or garlic, maybe black olives. Would blue cheese crumbles hold up?

    • Judi

    Tried your Florentine recipe. It was fab! I’m going to try them for the holidays with a bit of candied cherries mixed in.

    • Meena

    Thanks for the recipe David! I’ve been wanting to try making this ever since I heard about it from you weeks ago. Kudos to the non-deep-frying method. Will sure be trying this out pretty soon!

    • Deirdre M.

    Oops. Meant to say that chickpea flour is also sometimes called gram. You mentioned it’s being called besan.

    • Swati

    Do you know, at the end of the post I could have hit myself with the kitchen tongs. In the beginning, I thought: this looks interesting, now what can I make it with – since I wouldn’t have any of the ingredients so easily found in the west… And then, I kept thinking of sattu, which is made from chana, but after roasting, so you just have to mix with water and salt and have it with spicy pickles, or with water and sugar, and eat. Wonderful instant food full of energy and proteins. Anyway, that wouldn’t do, since its strong in itself… and then, of course, you said it – the damn thing is simply besan! Of all the silly things to forget! Yet, now that I know, I doubt if I will try it, for my heart already belongs to ‘besan ke gatte’, which is easier to make, and just a wee bit healthier I expect. Do you know it? Basically you make a dough with besan, water, bit of ginger garlic paste, haldi (turmeric), salt, and some chilli powder if you want, then make finger thick rolls, roughly. Boil them up till they float, cool, slice and make a curry with them! Or, like me, just eat them up. Warning though – not very easy to digest if you eat too many. Or maybe I’d go for besan cheela – besan dissolved in water, just a bit of salt, cumin powder and soda bicarb, and fry like crepes. Eat with paneer or any other topping of your choice. Pakoras of all variety are special monsoon foods: the smell of hot pakoras on a rainy afternoon is a classic combination. And of course, dhokla and its relatives from Maharashtra are in a class of their own, steamed food, so light and airy in form. Then the kadhi, which is great when made well…. Guess I might try this new combination with olive oil after all, considering the various forms I like besan in :)

    And oh, chickpeas are called grams, or chana or chola in hindi, the powder is besan in hindi. Different sizes and colours, and different tastes as well for the different varieties of chana. Try green gram if you ever get it fresh. Wash well, just add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Its heavenly. Even without these three things.

    • Shin

    I knew there was a French version of farinata, but I honestly didn’t know about panissa.

    In Genoa we usually deep-fry, pan-fry (less oil?), grill or eat it “raw”, tossed with salad, which gives away its interesting texture, smooth and dense before slowly melting in your mouth. Kind of slimy, too, but in a good way.

    It’s molded in soup plates and sold usually whole (maybe in slices as well, I never bought it from a store, lest my granma tossed me out of the kitchen window), or by the bunch, already chopped up like the pieces you fried. It’s sort of funny too, because by the shape it takes after setting, it’d look as if every single shop used exactly the same plate.
    — really, short of eating the raw flour by the spoonful, nothing stops us x_x

    Grilled or pan-fried, it’s very common as an aperitivo, along with french-fries. Tricky too, since it’s hard to tell them apart.
    The deep-fried version is also found in Fritto Misto all’Italiana (o alla Piemontese), fried morsels of about everything (no fish), going from panissa to veggies to meat to brain to latte dolce (milk thickened with flour and yolks and sweetened with sugar, vanilla and lemon, sort of like a pudding: an old homely dessert for small children) to a thick puree made with veggies.

    By the way, I gave your Devil’s Food Cake a try last night for my father’s birthday. If the wonderful smell is anywhere close to how it tastes, I’m covering you in chickpea flour.

    • Mary

    I tried grilling my panisses. I made the batter and put into a loaf pan to cool. After it was cool, I sliced pieces off (about 1/2 inch thick), oiled them and then grilled them off to heat them. They worked really well and were delicious with the shrimp they were served with: Link

    • Sunshinemom

    This goes to prove that cuisine around the world are all cousins!! We make “kothimbir vadi” in Maharashtra (India) which is a slightly spiced up version of this with lots of coriander.
    Just in case it interests you: Link

    • Hannah

    I tried to make these for a French project on Marseille, but it didn’t work. Are you sure that’s the right amount of water? I think it’s too much, because my batter thickened but never to the point where it kept its shape and pulled away from the pan. It stayed sorta soupy.

    • David

    Hannah: Yes, that’s the amount of water I used to reach the consistency shown.

    • Hannah

    I realized what I did. I halved this recipe inorder to practice making the Panisse before my project. I halved all the ingredients except for the water. How stupid is that? My excuse is that it was late at night and that I’m not French. haha

    • Louise

    Thanks so much for posting this recipe. I didn’t even know what panisse were until last Thursday. One of my dinner companions had ordered them and gave me a taste. As soon as I could I went to the computer to find a recipe. This one appealed to me because it doesn’t call for deep frying. Last Friday we had panisse with salad for supper. Wonderful! There was one left over and it was even good cold. I froze the unfried portions. I’m hoping that works for future reference.

    Again, thanks for a great recipe!

    • Rachelino

    I am not sure if I am opening a can of worms here, but I heard a Fresh Air interview (from several years back) in their online archive with Jeremiah Tower where he says that at Chez Panisse, he put panisses on the menu one evening.

    At some point, he decided no one would like them because they had chickpea flour (I am paraphrasing), and then came up with his famous individual, thin-crust goat cheese pizzas, on the fly, to serve that night instead.

    I think these panisses sound great and will definitely try that. I just wondered if you had heard that piece of panisse/Panisse lore

    • Betsy

    David,
    A little late in commenting (I’m new to your site) but I make my own chickpea flour. Soak, cook chickpeas. Drain. Pat dry. Bake low and slow (single layer on a sheet pan) till they are hard little balls of dryness (250F for 3 – 4 hrs). Grind in either a coffee grinder or spice grinder. I’ve heard a Vitex blender works too but don’t have one. This, in objection to the ridiculous prices and limited availability of chickpea flour in Miami. The grind is more coarse then the Italian flour but it is gorgeous and fresh and nutty.

    • Brittany

    Yum – this looks really delicious. I want to achieve the “custardy” interior of the Southern French panisse so I’ll give it ago sometime, even though I too hate deep frying!

    • marcella

    Hi David, thanks for mentioning panisse which I used to love when I was going out with a boy from Genoa whose mother was a wonderful cook. (and thanks to Shin for talking about them: yes I do remember the soup dish shape they get :). You may be interested to know that there is a street food from Sicily that is closely related to panisse/panizze: it’s called Panelle and it’s like a panizza, only not fried nor grilled. It’s simply the unmolded stuff cut into sliced and served inside a bun. There’s also a popular saying that glorifies this kind of diet and goes something like “Pane e panelle fanno i figli belli”, bread and panelle make beautiful kids :)

    the same smooth chickpea flour is used to make Farinata or Cecina (the Italian version of Socca).

    there is also another dish with a very similar name, Panissa, which is an almost unbearably rich risotto with beans (borlotti I think) and sausages, from the Novara area (land of rice fields).

    Wonderful blog, by the way :)

    • Bob Y

    God. What a flash you gave me. I had all but forgotten about them but your lovely intro took me back 10 yrs when we rented a house in the hills above Nice. Sitting under a fig tree dropping figs, my beloved and I drank Cotes du Ventoux and nibbled on panisse that he’d driven down to town to get. Whew!

    • Francesca

    this is almost identical to Sicilian panelle

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Yes, the cuisine of the south of France has, in several delicious ways, has been influenced by Italy in dishes such as pistou (pesto) and socca (farinata) as well as pizza.

    • Brandie Herbst

    I am so thrilled you posted about this! I never knew where these chickpea delights originated from and I’ve been constantly yearning for them since Café Boulud in Palm Beach used to make them several years ago! Can’t wait to make these at home!

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      They’re pretty easy to make at home and now that chickpea flour has become more widely available, they’re even easier! : )

    • Pat Handley

    I wonder if these could be done in an air fryer rather than frying in a skillet?

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      I’ve not done them in an air-fryer (mine stirs as it cooks, so they would probably fall apart) but if you do try them in your air fryer, let us know how they turn out!

    • Jean | Delightful Repast

    David, I first had panisses about ten years ago at a lovely restaurant in Napa Valley and have always wanted to make them but have never gotten around to it. Chickpea flour has always been readily available here, but I just never got around to making the panisses, Maybe soon. Thanks for the reminder. I love your description of how you react to the idea of deep frying. Just like me!

    • Karen

    Dear David. Love your recipe! My first taste of panisse was when served with Nicoise tripe in Nice. Heavenly. Making tonight

    • Melissa

    The Kansas version of these is “fried cornmeal mush” using the recipe straight off the back of the Quaker cornmeal box. It’s essentially polenta that’s been poured into a bread pan and chilled overnight, then cut into thin slices, dredged in flour, and fried in butter until the outsides are crisp. Serve with good, raw honey and you have one of my favorite breakfasts.

    I have no idea if it’s a southern thing or a Midwestern thing or what, but I’ve noticed that only the women in my family seem to love it. The men just tolerate it…

      • E

      Yes! I grew up with that as well, with parents who were both raised in NYS/PA. We had our fried mush with fried scrapple – om nom nom.

      • Jim

      In my family (on a farm in central Illinois) it was served with maple syrup.

    • John DePaula

    By the way, the uncooked batons freeze beautifully! I usually line a cookie sheet with plastic wrap and place the batons on the pan so that they are close but not touching. After 3-4 hours in the freezer, I remove them to a bag and keep in the freezer. Then I can just pull out what I need. Very convenient!

    • DeeGee

    This is similar to panelle, the chickpea dish from Sicily. Sometimes cut like a fry, sometimes flatter. Still, so addictive. Think I will make some this week!

    • Sharon Miro

    Like Sicilian panelle, right? The ones I have made have been on the back of plates, cut in triangles. yum.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      The panelle I’ve had were quite thin, and sometimes stuffed between a bun for sandwiches. (You can see a picture of the ones I had in Sicily in this post.) I’ve had thin and thick-cut panisses in Provence but not sure if there is any “official” way to cut and serve them.

    • Mathew

    Tell me, are the panisse supposed to be soft in the centre and crispy outside or crispy through and through? Just so I know how thick to cut the dough fingers.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      They’re not super crispy on the outside but they definitely have a bit of a toothsome quality. The insides are always soft and creamy, like polenta.

        • Carol W

        I live in Italy, and this reminds me of how we do polenta (made with the coarse, bramata flour, the stiff kind typical of the Veneto area, around Belluno). I’d never seen or heard of panisse. In Nice, years ago, we had socca at a stand at the far end of the lungomare. Delicious! In Liguria, they use farina di ceci to make cecina, also called farinata – that’s cooked in the oven, a thin cake, easy to make. I’ve done it a few times. Chick pea flour is available here (I have some in the house), so I’ll try to make panisse one of these days. Thanks for the info!

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      I cut them as thick as the ones shown in the photo. They don’t come out super crisp but they are toothsome on the outside and kind of creamy on the inside.

    • Sharon

    I’m wondering if baking them would be a good idea? I hate frying, probably as much as you do David..
    All the oil everywhere.. and the time it takes.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      I’ve never baked them. But the olive oil is part of the flavor. So if you try baking them you may want to brush them with a little olive oil first. If you do bake them, let us know how they turn out! (And how you do it.)

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      I think you’d miss the crust which gives them their trademark chewiness. If you baked them, they’d likely come out like baked polenta strips – heated through but with not really much else going on.

      • Kimberly

      I wonder if an Air fryer would work?
      they are super popular right now in the states.

      if someone tries this method, please post a comment.

        • David
        David Lebovitz

        Several others have asked that. If you do have an Air fryer and give them a go in it, let us know how they turn out!

    • Sandra Zaninovich

    Two words for you (ok more than 2 but you know what I mean):
    Count of Monte Cristo and Chateau D’If. If you’ve been to Marseille and don’t know them, I am so sorry. Please read Count of Monte Cristo ASAP, as it is quite literally the best book ever written, but make sure to get the Penguin Classics edition translated by Robin Buss (if you get a translation). If you read the original French, just make sure you get a completely unabridged version, because the abridged ones are not even remotely the same amount of goodness. And, lastly, when I was at Cal in the late 70’s, early 80’s, I lived at Chez Panisse as much as I was able to on my budget, and at Cocolat just down the street. Their marjolaine cake was the best cake I ever ate! I never knew that Panisse referred to a food item. I just never inquired!

    • Linda

    I’d love to try this. I have an unopened bag of Bob’s Red Mill chickpea flour that I bought at least 10 years ago to make soca and never did. Any chance it’s still useable? OR should I expect that it is rancid or something and chuck it out? Thoughts, anyone?

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      I don’t know how long it keeps but check the expiration date or perhaps get in touch with the folks at Bob’s. You might want to just get another bag to replace it though; I don’t think chickpea flour gets better to longer it sits ;)

    • Querino de. Freitas

    I HAVE NVER MADE THIS….I PREJFER THE CORNMEAL VERSION..BUT AFTER ITS COOKED. THEN PLACED IN A LORGE FLAT TIN TO GET COLD…AFTER WHICH IS DIPPED IN SEEASONED FLOUR THEN FRIED IN SALTED MELTED BUTTER..SO SIMPLE……….THANKS.QUERINO

    • Cindy Coddington

    These were amazing and a big hit as an appetizer served with a chipotle mayo! Easy to make, I’ll definitely be adding this recipe to my regulars.
    Thanks, David!

    • Cindy

    These were amazing and a big hit as an appetizer served with a chipotle mayo! Easy to make, I’ll definitely be adding this recipe to my regulars.
    Thanks, David!

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      That sounds like a great accompaniment. Glad you liked them!

    • Liane

    After unearthing two kinds of chickpea flour doing refrigerator and pantry reform, I unearthed both Bob’s chickpea flour and Besan. I will try this. Query: has anyone tried the oven roasted method instead of the stovetop one for the initial cooking. I’ve stopped stirring polenta and wonder if the technique will work here. Guess I’ll try and see given a surplus of raw material and report back.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Polenta is a lot thicker than flour and absorbs liquid slower, hence the longer cooking time (on the stovetop) and good results. It’s pretty quick to cook on the stovetop so I’d recommend sticking with that.

    • Paul

    David, I’ve noticed in your Instagram videos that you use a Moka pot for coffee; I was wondering if you have an espresso machine at home as well, and if so, is there a model you recommend? Thanks!

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      I have a vintage Francis!Francis! machine from Illy that only works with their ESE paper pods (or similar “hard” paper pods, which some other companies make), that works well (which they gave me when I went to their coffee school), and a Breville espresso machine that I really like a lot that uses ground espresso. (They’re sold under the Sage name in France.)

        • Paul

        Thank you!

    • Wendy

    François Payard uses chicken stock, instead of water in his panisse recipe & dips them in an anchovy mayo.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      That’s interesting! I’ve not heard of using stock (like in Italy, I think they generally use water for polenta…but not 100% sure of that.) Have you made his recipe? If so, how were they?

    • Ben

    Thanks for a great recipe! These were wonderful, and, since I had mayo and homemade harissa in the fridge, I used them–a perfect dip.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Happy they were a hit and the dipping sauce sounds great!

    • Wendy

    Just made Chef Payard’s recipe using chix stock ( he also suggests toasting the flour in a dry pan, before cooking). Thought they were delicious, but tarted them up with herbs de Provence. Next time will try your classic version, as your recipes are brilliant. Fried them outdoors, with a cast iron pan, on an iwatani propane burner, using your precise measurement of olive oil. So easy to do for a get together. A rosé is a necessity, in my opinion.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Thanks for reporting back. I think he was born in Nice (and not that you have to be born somewhere to make the food from there…) but interesting he toasts the flour and uses stock. But I know he’s lived in the U.S. for a while and is comfortable adapting recipes, and talented at it. Toasting flour can make thing drier as you’re removing water from the flour but I assume it gets hydrated well during the cooking process. I can’t say I think stock would make them better (I think they’re fine with water) but glad you gave ’em a go and thanks for circling back!

    • Kristina

    Made these to have with a cocktail yesterday – quite quick and very delicious. I think they are destined to become a favourite around here. Thanks so much!

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Happy to hear!

    • Annie

    Was looking this over to possibly make it and noticed that the steps skip from 5 to 8 & 8. Likely just a typo.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      My recipe plug-in (the format system I have to use to make the recipes printable) sometimes adds the steps automatically, and sometimes I have to do it. Fixed!

    • Sarah

    Delicious! Just made my first batch. Even got the creamy insides discussed above. Total fluke I’m sure.

    • Steve

    I made these last weekend from my own chickpea flour (Blentec + bag of dried chickpeas).

    I have two issues.

    1. You need an oil with a higher flashpoint otherwise you can’t get a crispy enough product.

    2. The flavor, there was none. Very very bland, next time I will add some spice to it

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      They’re not meant to be crisp, just browned as much as you like, but if you do try them with a different oil let us know how they turn out.

      In regards to the flavor, since there is just one primary ingredient – chickpea flour – if the flour you made isn’t flavorful, either try other dried chickpeas or do as the Niçoise (and Sicilians) do and use prepared chickpea flour.

        • Steve

        Thanks, David, I will see if I can get a bag of Italian flour when friends return from Italy. And I will try a different oil.

        The concept is awesome… and it has piqued the curiosity of friends here in Israel who are always looking for new things to do with “hummus”!

    • Nomie

    Do the panisses hold together better than a polenta finger? I had a devil of a time with mine a few weeks ago and I’d love to try again… I’m just not sure what I’m doing wrong..

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Yes, they do. Because they’re made with fine chickpea flour, rather than coarse polenta, they don’t crumble as polenta does.

    • Lisa G.

    Revelatory! Long time fan, reader, subscriber; first (maybe second??) time commenter. These are beyond delicious. I cannot believe how creamy they are in the inside with that excellent crunch on the exterior. Seriously creamy, a word I rarely use for savory foods. I devoured these with an icy drink (beer instead of rosé, if truth be told) on my back deck overlooking Buzzards Bar. Thank you for introducing me to my new favorite finger food. L’ Shanah Tova, David.

A

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