[Sca-cooks] Chickpea fritters

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

And don't forget the not at all sweet Southern French fried chickpea 
cakes called
Panisse

I loved them when i lived in Southern France. It didn't dawn on me 
that they were Lenten fare.

Cook chickpeas until quite tender; pass through a sieve to puree and 
remove skins; mix with a little water to a porridge-y consistency; 
glop equal amounts onto saucers (so they'll be UFO shaped discs); 
allow to set until quite firm.

To eat, heat olive oil in a skillet. Slip the panisse into the pan 
and fry on medium heat until crispy.

As for those interesting sweet chick pea cakes... remember Sicily was 
never really Italian. It was colonized first by the Phoenicians and 
then by the Greeks. Apparently when what's-her-name wrote "Pomp & 
Sustenance" there were still communities speaking archaic Sicilian 
Greek.

I do agree with you that mashed sweetened chick peas with almonds and 
candied fruit sounds like Sicilian meets Middle Eastern. I'll see if 
i can find anything vaguely reminiscent in my period cookbooks.

Urtatim / Anahita