Panelle with ricotta and black olives

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups chickpea flour
• 0.5 cups canned chickpeas, drained and roughly mashed
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley + extra parsley leaves for serving
• 1 cup fresh ricotta
• 1/4 cup black olives in oil, coarsely chopped
• Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Preparation:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the chickpea flour, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 2 cups of water. Heat over medium-high heat and cook until the mixture thickens and pulls away from the sides of the pan, forming a thick paste, about 4 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas.
2. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and smooth it out to form a flat pancake 2.5 cm wide and just over 0.5 cm thick. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. At this point, the panelle can be refrigerated overnight.
3. Pour 2.5 cm of vegetable oil into a small frying pan and heat to 190°C.
4. Fry the pancakes until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain off excess oil.
5. Mix the parsley with the ricotta, then spoon it over the warm or cooled pancakes. Top with chopped olives, 1 small parsley leaf, and a sprinkle of salt.