Green Herb Chickpea Fries
2 min readApr 23, 2021
Also called panisses, these have been around for over a century. They used to be very popular in Marseille in the 1930s, and are enjoying a resurgence lately.
The texture is very unusual — crispy on the outside and smooth and custardy on the inside.
This version has fresh herbs and goes particularly well with our garlic or chipotle mayo (see below)
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup chickpea (gram) flour
- 3 cups water
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs (basil, mint, chives, tarragon, savoury etc) (optional)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, ground canola oil for frying
Directions
- Bring water, salt and pepper to a boil in a medium pot. Reduce heat to low.
- Add the chickpea flour gradually, whisking as you go to prevent large lumps.
- Let cook for a few minutes.
- Add herbs and whisk to mix. You will have little lumps, but don’t worry, you won’t notice them in the finished product.
- Remove from heat and pour onto a non-stick sheet pan.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until totally firm (at least an hour, or overnight).
- When ready to serve, cut the chickpea mixture into long French-fry shapes, about half an inch thick.
- Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. You just need enough oil to come up about half the height of your fries.
- Fry until browned and crispy on both sides. Drain on a paper towel.
- Serve with dipping sauce on the side.