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1
Warm the 750 ml of water in a heavy-based saucepan. Add the rosemary sprig and allow it to infuse for several minutes over low heat. Remove and discard the rosemary. The water must be warm — not cold, not at a rolling boil — before the flour is introduced; cold water causes instant, irrecoverable lumping.
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2
Measure the farina di ceci into a bowl. With the pan of warm water over medium-low heat, pour the flour in a thin, steady stream, whisking constantly. Do not pause. Continue whisking without interruption for the first 10 minutes: the flour clumps rapidly on contact with water and only constant agitation prevents it. The mixture will thicken noticeably. Add the olive oil and whisk to incorporate. The batter at this stage is thick and lump-free.
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3
This is where the dish lives or dies. Reduce the heat to its lowest setting. Cook the panissa for 45 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula — reaching the corners and base of the pan at every pass. The starch must fully gelatinise: under-cooked panissa remains grainy and crumbles when cut. The finished mixture is very thick, pulls away from the sides of the pan, and moves as a single mass. A spoon dragged across the surface leaves a clean furrow that does not immediately fill.
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4
Oil a flat tray generously with olive oil. Pour the hot panissa onto the tray and spread it to an even thickness of 1 to 1.5 cm — no thinner, or the slab will be too fragile to slice cleanly. Smooth the surface with a wet spatula. Leave to set at room temperature for 1 hour.
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5
Transfer the tray to the refrigerator and chill until the panissa is fully firm. When pressed, it holds its shape without yielding. It is now ready to turn out and cut into slices, wedges, or cubes as required.
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6
To serve cold: cut the chilled panissa into slices. Arrange on a plate or tuck into focaccia bread at room temperature. Drizzle with raw extra-virgin olive oil, scatter a few leaves of wild onion or spring onion, and finish with flaky sea salt at the moment of service. The surface is pale gold and smooth; the interior, when pressed, is dense yet yielding.
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7
To fry: cut cold panissa into 1.5 cm cubes. Fry in abundant olive oil at 175 °C, turning until golden on all sides. The exterior is audibly crisp; the interior remains creamy. Drain briefly and season with flaky sea salt at the moment of service.