Beetroot arancini balls
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My beetroot arancini balls are vibrant and full of earthy goodness. The perfect snack or starter for an Italian themed evening or just because.
I used beetroot because firstly, I love it, and secondly, we don’t see enough beetroot based recipes. It’s more than just a side to a salad that you grab from a jar. Try my beetroot and baked feta salad for something a little bit different. We should all be baking beetroot tbh, as it is delicious. Only downside is that I’ve never managed to eat it without dropping it down myself and staining something I like. This is why I have minimal white clothes.
For more meal inspo, check out more of my recipes here.
Ingredients
metric imperial
For the sauce
- 1 bag of beetroot, quartered
- 1/2 an onion, sliced
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 30g salted butter
- 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
For the arrancini
- 1 bag of beetroot, finely diced
- 1 banana shallot, finely diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
- 75ml red wine
- 200g arborio rice
- 500ml hot vegetable stock
- 200g beetroot purée
- 40g Parmesan
- 30g salted butter
- Salt and pepper to season
- 1 log of goats cheese, cut into 15 pieces
- 3 tbsp flour, seasoned
- 2 whole eggs, beaten with 2 tbsps milk
- 150g panko breadcrumbs
- 500ml (or more) vegetable oil for deep frying
- A pinch of chopped chives to garnish with
Method
- Sauté the onion in a saucepan with a little oil until caramelised.
- Add in the beetroot and stock cube & over with boiled water, season and leave to simmer for 15 mins.
- Drain and blend the mixture, using the drained liquid to loosen the purée. Finish by blending in the butter & balsamic vinegar. Set aside until later.
- To make the risotto, in a wide pan add oil and on a medium heat gently cook the shallot until translucent.
- Add in the garlic, thyme and then rice.
- Toast off the rice for a min or two and then add in the wine.
- Cook until the wine evaporates and the rice is starting to get thick.
- Stir through 1/4 of the purée and 1/2 of the vegetable stock.
- Cook on a simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed and then add the rest of the stock and half of the purée.
- Leave to cook again until the liquid has been absorbed and add the remaining purée.
- Remove from the heat and add butter and Parmesan.
- Stir through the diced beetroot (save a little to garnish with later) and cool on a tray in the fridge.
- Once cooled, divide mixture into 15ish portions & then using your hands place a piece of goats cheese into the middle & shape, then place onto a lined tray & back into the fridge for 30-60 mins.
- Then roll the balls into flour, then the egg and milk mixture then into breadcrumbs then back into egg then back into breadcrumbs.
- In a deep sauce pan, heat up enough oil to deep fry your arancini. Heat to 170°C.
- Carefully deep fry your balls.
- Place in oven at 180°C fan for 10 mins to make sure they are hot all the way through.
- Serve up with some left over purée & a sprinkle of diced beetroot and chives!