Vegan beetroot Arancini
with caper aioli
This might be the perfect little treat you always want to have a small stock of in your freezer. The Arancini, basically a deep-fried risotto ball, is very versatile; have it as a starter on a menu, along with a few beers, or as a mid-night snack after a rough night. The Arancini always got your back. For this recipe, I made a vegan risotto with beetroot, but make whatever you like. You really can’t go wrong! So next time you do risotto for dinner, don’t forget to make a big old badge!
Ingredients
2 onions
4 cloves of garlic
2 sticks celeriac
1 fennel
500 gr Risotto
250 ml white wine
1 L vegetable stock
500 gr cooked beetroots
1 lemon
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
400 gr white flour
200 ml non-dairy milk
400 gr fine breadcrumbs
Caper Aioli:
2 cloves garlic
1 lemon
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard
salt and pepper
200 ml soy milk
neutral tasting oil (sunflower eg.)
100 gr Capers
Method
To start off with the Risotto, finely chop the onions, garlic, celeriac and fennel. Heat a large pot over low heat with some olive oil and gently start frying everything. After 10 minutes, add the risotto and fry for another 2 minutes. Then deglaze with the white wine. From now on, keep stirring the risotto every half a minute or so, while adding the vegetable stock ladle by ladle.
When the risotto is ready, stop adding more vegetable stock. Use a grater to grate the beetroots finely, add to the risotto together with the juice. Also add the juice and zest of the lemon, and the olive oil, salt and pepper. Give everything a stir, turn off the heat and put on the lid for a few minutes. Season the risotto to taste, then (optionally) have a part of it for dinner and let everything to cool down in the fridge overnight.
To make the Arancini, form round balls of the cooled risotto about the size of a golf ball. Then, make 3 different plates. The first one just with flour. The second one with a pancake kind of batter of flour, non-dairy milk and salt. The third one with the breadcrumbs. In the same order, coat the risotto balls until you have a nice crumb. Use your hands to shape into nice round balls. When done, place everything in a closed container and put in the freezer.
When the time comes to enjoy those magical creatures, preheat a deep-fryer to 160 ‘C. Fry the Arancini, for around 8 minutes, so that it’s cooked through all the way to the center.
To make the Aioli, place all the ingredients besides the oil and capers in a measuring jug. Blitz up with a stick blender while really slowly adding the oil. Continue this process until the aioli has reached the right thickness. Then finely slice the capers and add to the Aioli. Taste for seasoning and Buon Appetito!