As a child, I looked forward to the monthly arrival of Children’s Digest magazine. One of my favorite features was the Rebus Puzzle page.
I loved to figure out what the combination of pictures and letters and numbers meant. If you think creatively, put together the elements in this painting you will be able to figure it out. The answer is at the bottom of this post.
Now, on to the important matter – food!
I decided to made Panisses before I knew their proper name. I had eaten them as a side dish, served with a burger at a pub and liked them, but only knew them as chickpea fries. So I went off to the Upper Valley Food Coop for inspiration and supplies and learned that what I wanted is called besan and that the fries are called Panisses. This additional information enabled me to figure out how to proceed. Here’s how I did it:
Panisses
I began with two cups of cold water in a heavy bottomed saucepan and using a whisk, mixed in two cups of besan and a teaspoon of kosher salt, stirring constantly in order to make a lump free mixture and then cooked, continuing to stir, over medium heat for about five minutes.
When it had thickened and resembled thick polenta, I poured it into a twelve by seventeen inch glass pan lined with plastic wrap and left it to cool for an hour, making a layer that was about half an inch thick.
After it had cooled for about an hour, I tipped it out of the pan onto a cookie sheet and cut it into ‘fry shaped pieces’ – about three inches long and three quarters of an inch wide.
I cooked the fries batches in a half an inch of canola oil until they were brown and crispy, about five minutes. The fries need gentle handling at this stage, so don’t crowd the pan.
While draining on a paper towel, I seasoned the Panisse with kosher salt and chili powder. Serve while hot as an appetizer with a glass of wine or as a side dish.
The solution to the rebus puzzle is Chickpea flour.
To receive an email notification of my next post, click here and subscribe to the newsletter from Carol’s Kitchen.
Panisses List
- 2 c besan/chickpea flour/ gram flour
- 1 t kosher salt
- chili Powder
- canola oil
looks good what a beautiful garden you have
Hi Carol,foodieblogroll also led me to your blog and I love it here! I'd love to guide our readers to your site if you won't mind.Just add your choice of foodista widget to this post and it's all set to go, Thanks!
I came to your blog via Foodie Blog Roll and I'm so glad I did – it's delightful!
Tasty too!
find this useful, interesting and vibrant.