Anyone who knows me, knows that my favourite cuisine is Italian. I loooove me some Italian food.
Anything that revolves around tomato, basil and lots of garlic - I'm in.
I used to eat quite a lot of Arancini at corporate work events, on those starter plates that get carried around, when you've had a long day and you're starving.
They're cheesy and full of white rice, usually deep fried. Basically they're super delicious, but also equate to your whole calorie quota for the day in a very small serve.
So in my usual style I've been wanting to healthily them for a long time now. And not just that these days, but veganise them too.
These are also gluten free, as I use gluten free breadcrumbs to bind. If you want to add a little fat back into them, you could use almond or cashew meal instead of the breadcrumbs. You could also make a creamy cashew cheese sauce to bind them instead of the flax egg. But the idea here is to make them as low fat as possible , whilst still being delicious. And then you can add the calories back in to suit your own preferences and goals.
I rolled mine in a mix of Nutritional yeast and gluten free breadcrumbs
You could shallow fry them for a few minutes until browned, but I decided to bake mine.
Spray with coconut oil if desired, but I tried some without, and they browned just the same.
Here they are ready to go in the oven...
They only take a few minutes to bake, and they're ready to eat. I made a spicy tomato dipping sauce, which I whipped up quickly while the Arancini were cooking.
So easy and delicious to dip and eat while still warm. So good! My hubby helped me road test a few, and even though he's not vegan, he loved them too.
I prepared the leftovers with some zoodles, as I thought that would be the perfect meal for later. The quinoa is full of protein and healthy carbs. I sprinkled with some of my leftover ball coating instead of parmesan cheese.
I hope you give them a try!
Jo xx
Quinoa Vegan Arancini
(Serves 2-4)
Quinoa Arancini with Spicy Tomato Dipping Sauce
Balls
1 packed cup cooked quinoa
1 clove garlic minced
1 & 1/2 tsp dried Italian herbs
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp GF breadcrumbs
1 flax egg (1 Tbsp flax meal mixed with 3 Tbsp water - leave for 5mins to thicken)
Salt & pepper to taste
Coating
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp GF breadcrumbs
Mix in a bowl
Once flax egg has thickened mix all ingredients in a bowl. Should stick together when pressed
Using a Tablespoon scoop, roll into balls and roll gently in coating
Place on a baking paper lined oven tray and bake for 30mins at 180C/350F until lightly browned
Spray with coconut oil if desired
Spicy Tomato Sauce
1 x 400g can Diced Tomatoes with Basil & Oregano No Added Salt
1 clove garlic minced
Hot sauce to taste
1/4 tsp granulated stevia to balance the acidity
Salt & pepper to taste
Cook on low for 15mins until thickened