Baked panelle with fennel and olive salad

Ingredients

For 1 serving

• Chickpea flour80 g
• Fennel150 g
• Green olives20 g
• Orange0.5
• Parsley5 g
• Extra virgin olive oil1 tablespoon
• Fennel seeds1 teaspoon
• Saltto taste
• Black pepperto taste

In season: October – April

Method

1. Pour cold water (about three times the weight of the flour) into a small pan, salt it and add the chickpea flour in a steady rain, whisking until there are no lumps; add the fennel seeds.
2. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is very thick and comes away from the sides of the pan.
3. Immediately tip it onto a lightly wetted plate or board and spread it with a spatula into a layer about 1 cm thick; let it set for 15 minutes, then cut it into rectangles. Meanwhile heat the oven to 220 °C, fan, and line a tray with baking paper.
4. Place the panelle on the tray, brush them with half the oil and bake at 220 °C for 12 minutes per side, until golden and crisp outside.
5. While they bake, trim the base and tough leaves of the fennel and slice it thinly; peel the orange with a knife and cut it into segments; chop the parsley.
6. Dress the fennel, green olives and orange with the remaining oil, the parsley, salt and pepper and serve the salad with the hot panelle.