A Provencal street food of L'Estaque, Marseille: chickpea flour cooked with water into a firm porridge, set until solid, then cut into sticks or wedges and fried until crisp outside and soft within — a southern cousin of the Italian farinata, brought to Marseille by Ligurian immigrants.
Panisses are a specialty of Provence, particularly the L'Estaque quarter of Marseille, where they are a beloved street food. Wikipedia documents that they were brought to the region by Piedmontese and Ligurian immigrants who came to work in the factories of L'Estaque. They are a southern variant of the Italian farinata — the chickpea-flour flatbread of Liguria — adapted in Provence into a set cake that is then fried. The dish belongs to the broad Mediterranean family of chickpea-flour preparations that stretches from the ceci of Genoa to the panelle of Sicily.
A panisse is a finger-sized stick or wedge, the outside golden and shatteringly crisp, the interior soft, smooth, and slightly custardy — the chickpea flavor warm and earthy beneath the salt. Eaten hot from the fryer, dusted with salt and pepper, sometimes with a dip, panisses are the apéritif snack and street food of L'Estaque.
Panisses rest on the gelatinization of chickpea-flour starches. Chickpea flour is whisked into boiling salted water with olive oil and cooked, stirring constantly, until the starches gelatinize and the mixture thickens into a firm porridge; this is poured into a tray to set. Once cooled and solid, the set cake is cut into sticks or wedges and shallow- or deep-fried. Frying does two things: it Maillard-browns the surface into a crisp crust, and it heats the interior until the gelatinized starch softens into the smooth, almost custardy texture. The contrast of the dark, crisp crust and the soft, pale interior is the defining characteristic of the dish.
Variations
Some versions are baked rather than fried; the chickpea-flour base, the set-then-cooked technique, and the crisp-soft contrast are the constants.
On the Palate
Where Panisses sits in the French flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
5 steps · 20 min
- 115 min
Whisk chickpea flour into boiling salted water with olive oil, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens into a firm porridge.
Watch outStir constantly as the chickpea flour cooks until it thickens into a stiff porridge that pulls from the pan — under-cooked and it won't set firm enough to cut.
- 2120 min
Pour into a greased tray, smooth the top, and chill until completely set and solid.
- 35 min
Cut the set cake into sticks or wedges.
- 410 min
Shallow- or deep-fry in hot oil until golden and crisp on the outside.
Watch outFry in properly hot oil until golden and crisp outside — cool oil soaks in and leaves them greasy and soft instead of crackling.
- 55 min
Drain briefly, dust generously with salt and pepper, and serve hot.
