Palermo Food Blog: Pane Panelle e Crocchè

You cannot visit Palermo without letting yourself be inebriated by the intense and unique taste of the street food specialties of the Sicilian capital.

Let’s start with the most renowned gastronomic speciality of Palermo: “pane panelle e crocchè“. There are many places around the city that offer this dish, some kiosks or places are historical and have been providing excellent street food for many years now.

Read also: Best Places to Get Your Sicilian Food Fix In Palermo

But what is the “pane e panelle e crocchè“? This is a sandwich with panelle, that are thin fried squared “pancakes” that are made with chickpea flour and “crocchè” are fried potato balls.

Some of the best places to eat this specialty in Palermo are Nnì Franco ù Vastiddaru, Panineria Chiluzzo and Antica Focacceria San Francesco.

Quick Sicily Travel Guide

Sicily Accommodation: San Domenico Palace and Grand Hotel Timeo for luxury accommodation in Taormina, and Casa Nostra Boutique Hotel or Palazzo Natoli Boutique Hotel for intimate vibes in Palermo. Dome or B&B Oriental Palace in Catania. Room Of Andrea Hotel or Gaura Apartments in Trapani. Le Tre Campane Ortigia or Palazzo Alfeo Aparthotel in Syracuse. Principe Di Salina Boutique Hotel or Il Gabbiano Relais in Stromboli on the Aeolian Islands.

Top Sicily Activities:

• Palermo street food walking tour
• Etna, wine and Alcantara tour from Taormina
• Boat tour to Favignana and Levanzo from Trapani
• Private tour of 3 Etna wineries with food and wine tasting
• Travel photoshoot in Palermo
• Quad excursion from Ribera

How to prepare panelle e crocchè

Duration: 2h 30 min

Difficulty: Intermediate

Ingredients

For 4 people:

For the preparation of the panelle:

 - 300 gr of chickpea flour
 - 100 gr of white flour 00
 - 1/2 liter of water
 - 1 and a half tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
 - salt

For the preparation of the crocchè:

 - 500 gr of potatoes
 - 1 egg
 - 40 gr of butter
 - 2 tablespoons of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
 - 2 tablespoons of Pecorino Romano cheese
 - origan
 - a little bit of white flour
 - salt

Also it will be necessary to prepare:

 - 4 hamburger buns
 - oil for frying

Preparation

Preparation of panelle:

• Sift the chickpea flour and white flour into a large bowl, adding the warm water. The operation must be carried out gradually, mixing well with a whisk, so that no lumps are formed. Continue to pour in water, adding a pinch of salt and a tablespoon and a half of extra virgin olive oil.

• You will need to get a well blended, liquid but dense and pasty mixture. Pour the mixture into a pan and heat it over low heat (do not boil it) for about ten minutes. Then pour it into a low non-stick container (otherwise grease the bottom with oil) and let it cool.

• Let the mixture rest for at least 2 hours (even more is fine). Then heat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and bake. Let it dry for about fifteen minutes in the oven. Remove from the oven and let cool. In the end you will get a thin layer of dough that will easily come off the bottom.

• At this point, turn the dough over onto a cutting board and with a sharp knife cut into squares.

Preparation of crocchè:

• Take the potatoes, wash them well and boil them with all the peel in a pot of water. Once the potatoes are boiled, peel them while still hot and mash them with a potato masher.

• In a bowl, put some butter and mash it with a fork, then add the potatoes and two whole eggs. Then add the Parmesan cheese and grated pecorino cheese and a little bit of origan. Mix everything well so that all the ingredients mix with each other. Taste and add some salt.

• Then take a portion of the potato dough and form a croquette with your hands. Then in a plate full of flour, pass the freshly made croquette so that it dries on the surface. Gradually collect the croquette in a plate or tray, so that they dry further.

Preparation of pane panelle e crocchè

• Finally, prepare a pan suitable for frying and fill it with oil for frying. Bring the oil to high temperature and fry both the potatoe croquettes (crocchè) and the chickpea panelle.

• When they are golden brown and crunchy, remove them from frying with a slotted spoon. Drain them and place them to dry on a sheet of absorbent paper.

• Meanwhile, reheat the hamburger bun divided in half. Fill it with panelle and crocchè and serve it hot (it must be crunchy). In the end if you prefer, you can add some lemon juice on the top for serving.

All the photos in this article were taken by Chiara Magi. Book your travel photoshoot in Palermo here or write us at [email protected].

Want to see more travel photos of Sicily? Follow us on Instagram here