Panisses Sucrées a Sweet Version Recipes from Nice

While panisse and socca include chickpea flour and water, the preparation and cooking for these typical Niçoise recipes are different. Like polenta, panisse starts with a dough cooked until it is thick. Then the dough is rolled or shaped and fried in a hot pan. Panisse is served hot and as a delicious side dish. While Marseille and Nice claim panisse as a local recipe, the origins are likely Ligurian, arriving with Italian immigrants in the 19th century.

The recipe below is a sweet version of panisse, where the dough preparation includes sugared water. The recipe below for Panisses Sucrée was translated and published with the permission of the Office de Tourisme Métropolitain Nice Côte d’Azur. Panisses are part of a collection of traditional Niçoise cooking in a cookbook that salutes the Cuisine Nissarde –  Carnets de cuisine du Comté de Nice. Purchase the book at the tourist office in Nice or online at Amazon.

So What is Socca?

Socca is the ubiquitous street food found all over southeastern France, most notably in Nice and, more specifically, around the Cours Saleya market. When cooked perfectly, it is best straight from the pan and served very hot, replete with addictively crispy edges and lightly seasoned with flake sea salt, cumin, and perhaps a drizzle of olive oil. It makes the perfect merenda, or midday snack, with a bottle of rosé (who drinks just one glass?) to keep you active while searching for treasures in the narrow streets of Vieux Nice. There is even a movie dedicated to the beloved dish “We eat socca here.”

Sweet Panisse (les panisses frites au sucre)

Carnets de cuisine du Comté de Nice

In Niçoise the sweet snack is called li panissa fregidi au sucre. Enjoy!

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cuisine Nissarde, French, Provencal

Servings 8 people

Equipment

• 1 Medium Saucepan 2 quart
• 1 12-inch skillet non-stick with lid

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 3.5 oz Chickpea Flour
• 6 oz Sunflower Oil
• 1 cup Water
• 1/2 oz Sugar
• Icing Sugar for sprinkling on top

Instructions

 

• Boil the water and the sugar in a saucepan.
• Slowly pour in the chickpea flour and whisk quickly to avoid lumps. Strain if necessary.
• Cook for about 10 minutes, whisking continuously.
• Pour onto saucers and allow to cool for at least an hour. Cut the dough into chips. Fry them on high heat in a heavy skillet and sprinkle with icing sugar.

Notes

You can use ready-made panisses to "save time" and roll them in granulated sugar instead of icing sugar.

As a variation, sprinkle the panisse with a few drops of orange blossom water.

Keyword Chickpeas

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