Meat-free Arancini

I was looking for a labor-intensive recipe to tackle- and arancini was it!

My cravings for meat or poultry-free Italian dishes have subsided, but I still enjoy constructing vegetarian alternatives to my old favorites.  Since arancini traditionally is filled with ground beef or ham, I just upped the veggies to compensate for what I had to leave out.  Set aside a good hour or 2 because it’s a hard dish to create…but more than worth it in the end!

1 cup uncooked Arborio rice

2 ½ cups boiling vegetable broth

½ dry cup white wine

1 onion, chopped

½ cups peas

½ cup corn

½ cup Parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 egg

1 tbsp almond milk

12 quarter-size pieces of fresh mozzarella cheese

½ cup flour

1 cup bread crumbs

1 tbsp olive oil (and 1 cup more for frying)

Salt & pepper to taste

• Cook tbsp of oil and onion in large saucepan over medium heat until they become translucent.  Then pour in the rice and cook for 2 to 3 minutes
• Stir in wine and continue cooking until the liquid has evaporated
• Add boiling veggie broth to the mixture 1/3 at a time, continuously stirring until the liquid is completely evaporated (NOTE: This can sometimes take more than 5 minutes) before adding more
• When everything has evaporated, add in corn, peas and salt and pepper and blend thoroughly
• Remove from heat, add in Parmesan cheese and one of the eggs and mix
• Allow mixture to cool in refrigerator for about 30 minutes
• When it has cooled, roll mixture into balls (slightly larger than a golf ball).  Poke a hole in the center and stuff a piece of mozzarella in, making sure it is concealed within the ball
• Dip balls in mixture of milk and the beaten egg and then roll through a plate of the bread crumb and flour mix
• Pour 1 cup of olive oil onto large frying pan on medium heat.  Cook 4 or 5 balls at a time, continuously moving them so they brown on all sides (pressing them a little make change the shape slightly, but they may be easier to cook)