A fantastic recipe based on the traditional Italian Arancini but with the difference that these ones are made with quinoa instead of rice. They are stuffed with vegan cheese and onions! Simple to make and super delicious!
Send some love to wingitvegan.com where we found this recipe!
First we’re going to cook the onion. Preheat a small frying pan or sauce pan over medium heat, add the oil and the onion and cook until golden and softened. This will take 10 to 15 minutes, and you will probably need to add a splash of broth here and there if the onions start to stick to the bottom of the pan. Stir frequently! If you use a non-stick pan, you can use the same pan later to cook the arancini.
Meanwhile, we’re going to cook the quinoa. Combine the quinoa with the broth (and salt if you need it) in a medium sized saucepan, cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed.
To prepare the eggy chickpea mix, in a small bowl combine the chickpea flour, broth, mayo, thyme, salt, and black pepper. Whisk or mix vigorously with a spoon until well combined and smooth.
Pour the chickpea mix over the cooked quinoa, throw in the parsley and the two tablespoons of breadcrumbs and stir well. If your quinoa mix looks too dry and not workable, add a bit more broth. If it looks too soupy add a few more breadcrumbs. It won’t taste very good at this point with the raw chickpea flour, but it wouldn’t hurt to give a quick taste to adjust the seasonings.
Now let’s make some balls! Use a medium-sized cookie scoop or a spoon to scoop out some of the quinoa mix and flatten it on the palm of your hand. Place a little bit of the onion and a little chunk of cheese right in the middle, pinch the ball shut and seal it well.
Roll the quinoa on the 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs and coat them thoroughly. Repeat until you are out of quinoa mix.
Heat two or three tablespoons of olive oil in a non-stick pan (if you’re reusing the same pan in which you cooked the onions, give it a quick rinse first). You want to coat the bottom of the pan so that the arancini have plenty of oil to get nice and brown. If you’re using a wide frying pan or a large saucepan you will need to use more oil to cover the bottom.
Carefully place the arancini in the preheated pan and cook over medium-high heat for about eight minutes, flipping the balls every few minutes to get every side nice and brown.
NOTES:
If you want to dip them in some sort of egg-like goo before rolling in the breadcrumbs, go for it. I just couldn’t be bothered. More of the chickpea-mayo concoction will do the trick.
They should cook quickly at a fairly high heat to keep them from drying out. I cooked a test ball over medium heat and it was a bit too dry. Cranking the heat up a bit to medium-high did the trick.
By VeggieSouls
