The Other Brooklyn

     I am from Queens, (let this be clear) but when my grandparents came here from Sicily, they first settled in Brooklyn, in Bushwick to be exact. And Rocco went to Bushwick High School when it wasn't cool to live in Bushwick. Very not cool. I remember this awesome orange Bushwick HS Reunion T Shirt he used to have. Beacon's Closet would pay big bucks for that one these days.

    Back in the day there was a funny phrase that distinguished two different areas of Brooklyn. If you lived in the northern area, where Knickerbocker Avenue is, where a lot of Italian immigrants lived, you lived in "Brooklyn." Then there was, "The Other Brooklyn," way over in the South part of the borough, which referred to Italian neighborhoods like Bensonhurst and Bay Ridge. Nonna still says, "He lives in l'altro Brukulino." On the other hand, if you lived in Bensonhurst, you considered that to be "Brooklyn" and you called Bushwick, "The Other Brooklyn." Its all a matter of one's perspective.

    Like when I was a kid on the block in Queens I had a friend named Jen. I called her "Jennifer Down the Block," to distinguish her from myself who was "Jennifer Up the Block." When I called her "Jennifer Down the Block" one day she said, "No, you are Jennifer Down the Block!"

We  still have not resolved that one.

PANELLE

      Panelle is one of my all time favorite snacks. I eat it everyday when I visit Sicily in the summer. Its a fried chick pea fritter usually served on fresh Italian bread. Not many places in New York make it but two of the few places you can get panelle is Bar Matchless in Greenpoint and the infamous Ferdinando's in Redhook. I have not tried either yet. 

      I made it for my Italian class party. Its pretty easy to prepare. You basically boil chick pea flour as if its porridge. Once its really thick you take it off the flame and add some parsley, salt and lemon juice and pour it into a greased mold. I use a water bottle with both ends cut off for the mold. Let it cool then slice and fry in canola oil.

Panelle

1 lb. chick pea flour (also called garbanzo bean or cece flour)

1.5 Liters of Water

Salt

Fresh Lemon Juice

Chopped Parsley

Boil the water. Add the chick pea flour slowly stirring constantly. Lower the heat if it starts to boil over. Keep boiling until its thick. Keep stirring. Once it pulls from the side of the pot, season with salt, fresh lemon juice and chopped parsley. Pour the paste into a greased mold. Cooking spray works best. For the mold cut off the ends of the 1.5 Liter water bottle standing on one end. Push it down so its tightly in there. Let the panelle paste cool for a few hours in the fridge standing the bottle upright. Once its cool remove it from the mold and cut into thin slices. Fry in canola or gemma oil and season with salt. Serve on Italian bread.