This vegan pumpkin arancini balls recipe is the fall-inspired dish you never knew you needed. They’re delicious and oh-so-easy to make!
I was visiting a friend’s house a while ago who randomly told me that you can make arancini balls with leftover risotto. It’s something that I had never considered before. But it makes perfect sense because risotto is sticky. So if you roll it up in a ball, it will likely stick together. I decided to make a big batch of my usual vegan pumpkin risotto and experiment. The risotto stuck together very well but they were a bit soft.
Traditional arancini balls are deep-fried, but I do not have a deep fryer nor do I believe deep frying is the healthiest option. So to speed up the process, I decided to try them out in an air fryer using no extra oil. They turned out perfect and only needed about ten minutes in the air fryer.
You could of course pop them in the oven instead. But I think the process would take around 40 minutes or so in the oven. I don’t actually think I will be making my pumpkin risotto anymore because the arancini balls are so much better! The extra crunch from the bread crumbs just took the risotto to a whole new level. I experimented with putting a little vegan cheese in the middle of some of the balls (not all) and it did add a nice creaminess but I couldn’t get a stretch from it.
The recipe comes together much quicker if you have precooked brown rice on hand. I batch cook my whole grains and freeze them. Then, I thaw them out before using or quickly heat them in the microwave. I also like to use organic microwave brown rice at times because it is so much quicker, I just make sure to take the rice out of the plastic packaging before microwaving so I don’t heat my food in plastic.
The recipe is vegan and dairy-free if you want to keep it gluten-free sub-gluten-free bread crumbs.
Ingredients
- 2 cups precooked brown rice
- Half butternut or Japanese pumpkin – cut into small cubes and roasted
- 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- 1 red onion – finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves – crushed
- salt and pepper to taste
- handful of parsley
- VEGAN CREAM:
- ⅓ cup cashews
- 1 cup of soy milk
- juice half a lemon
- 1 tsp tahini
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 TBSP nutritional yeast
- ½ cup breadcrumbs (for rolling- use GF if necessary)
- Vegan cheese of choice for the centre- optional
Instructions
- Begin by peeling your pumpkin and cutting into cubes.
- Season your pumpkin with a little salt and pepper and a good drizzle of olive oil and roast in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes at about 200 C or until slightly browned around the edges.
- For the cream: blend all ingredients together in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy and set aside.
- Fry your chopped onion in a large pot or pan in a little olive oil until it becomes lightly browned. Add your crushed garlic and cook for a few more seconds until garlic becomes fragrant.
- Add your pre-cooked rice and roasted pumpkin to the pan and mix well until everything is evenly combined. The pumpkin gets a little crushed during this process and makes the risotto start looking orange in colour, but you should still have a few chunky bits of pumpkin in there.
- Season with salt and pepper
- Start pouring in your cream a little at a time and mix well, the rice will absorb the cream. Keep adding until you get it as creamy as you like
- Throw in a handful of chopped parsley and mix again
- Allow to cool slightly then form into balls with your hands. Cut a small amount of vegan cheese ( if using) off and place in the centre of the arancini ball then roll the rest of the risotto around the cheese.
- Roll the arancini balls into bread crumbs.
- Place in the air fryer for 10 to 12 minutes or bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 200 C
- Serve with extra parsley
For more tasty, seasonal recipes, try making my warm and hearty vegan lentil shepherd’s pie. It features a delicious layer of lentils and other veggies under a heaping layer of creamy mashed potatoes. Garnish with parsley and enjoy!
This recipe was republished with permission from Hazel and Cacao.
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