St. David’s day is round the corner and as a celebration to that, I am sharing this recipe of leek in collaboration with British Leeks. This recipe has been curated by them and has twist added by me. St David’s day is celebrated in Wales and the festivities includes eating leek based food. This “Vegan Leek and Pea Aranchini” is a great snack (or a meal), and if you a leek lover, you gotta love leek and pea aranchini.
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I was little unfamiliar with leeks till I moved to UK and in UK leeks are so common in many recipes, leek soup being the most common of the lot.
What is leek?
Leeks are a member of the allium family, however have their own distinct flavour – quite strong when raw (only very young leeks can be eaten this way) however, once cooked, very gentle and delicate, like a mild onion possessing hint of sweetness.
What is arancini / aranchini
Aranchini (or Arancini) is an italian snack, consisting of balls of rice, coated with bread crumbs. Aranchini mostly have fillings of cheese and peas. Here I have added leeks to the aranchini balls, to give a unique flavour.
This leek recipe which I am sharing is vegan. This means people with special dietary requirements can also enjoy it to the fullest. The recipe is divided into two parts, one is making risotto and second part is making the balls. I have also included recipe of the dip / chutney to go with these aranchini balls. However, do not feel restricted to use only this dip. You may use any other dip which you may like, as per your own taste buds.
The whole process takes less than 45 mins. The beauty of this recipe is that you can try multiple variants of this by using varied ingredients. Think how you can adapt this recipe to make it even more fun and delicious. You mayy put something exciting in the core of these balls. So when someone eats these arancini balls, each balls have some different filling, adding to surprise and excitement.
method for making aranchini balls
The process is divided into two steps.
1. Making Risotto
- Begin by frying the leek and garlic together in a little olive oil. Once the leek is translucent add the rice and stir until it has been coated with oil. At this point add the wine and cook until wine has been absorbed. Now add vegetable stock and repeat this process.
- Once the rice has become soft, but retains a little bite, add the peas and cook for a few more minutes longer. Stir a little oil and parmesan and remove from the heat. Put the lid on and allow it to stand for 2-3 minutes.
2. MAKing THE ARANCHINI BALLS
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Place the breadcrumbs evenly on a baking tray and bake for around 5 minutes to toast
- Place the flour and oat milk into separate dishes in preparation. Roll the leftover risotto into balls. Coat the balls one by one in the flour, then the oat milk and then roll them in the toasted breadcrumbs. Repeat this process and make all the balls.
- Now in a non-stick pan, fry these balls using olive oil. Keep an eye on the arancini in the pan, turning when golden brown. Once cooked add them to a place on top of kitchen roll to soak up any excess oil.
Recipe for the dip – to go with Aranchini balls
Put Green Peas, Fresh Mint Leaves, and Olive oil into a food processor and blend until smooth. Top up with salt and pepper as per taste.
This leek and pea Aranchini balls recipe is
- Vegan
- Does not require great cooking skills
- Is versatile. You can swap / add ingredients of the aranchini balls as per taste
- Can be used as a starter for any party
Serving suggtion
Serve the aranchini balls hot with the dip or chutney of your choice.
Let me share now the step by step and easy to follow recipe of this Vegan Leek and Pea Aranchini
Recipe Card
Leek and Pea Aranchini
Ingredients
For Risotto
- 200 Grams Arborio rice
- 1 Leek Finely Chopped
- 1 Clove Garlic Finely Chopped
- 2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- White Wine A good splash (As per taste)
- 500 Milli Litre Vegetable Stock
- 1/4 Cup Green Peas Fresh or Frozen
- 1/4 Cup Vegan Parmesan Cheese
- Salt To Taste (1/2 teaspoon I used)
For Aranchini balls
- 300 Grams Pea risotto (Made using ingredients of set 1)
- 150 Grams Bread Crumbs
- 1/4 Cup Oat Milk
- 3 Tablespoon Flour
- Olive Oil For Frying
Pea and mint dressing
- 1/4 Cup Green Peas
- 10 Grams Fresh Mint Leaves
- Salt A pinch
- Black Pepper A pinch
- 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
Instructions
Part one – make risotto
- Begin by frying the leek and garlic together in a little olive oil. Once the leek is translucent add the rice and stir until it has been coated with oil. At this point add the wine and cook until wine has been absorbed. Now add vegetable stock and repeat this process.
- Once the rice has become soft, but retains a little bite, add the peas and cook for a few more minutes longer. Stir a little oil and parmesan and remove from the heat. Put the lid on and allow it to stand for 2-3 minutes.
Part two – make the Aranchini balls
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Place the breadcrumbs evenly on a baking tray and bake for around 5 minutes to toast
- Place the flour and oat milk into separate dishes in preparation. Roll the leftover risotto into balls. Coat the balls one by one in the flour, then the oat milk and then roll them in the toasted breadcrumbs. Repeat this process and make all the balls.
- Now in a non-stick pan, fry these balls using olive oil. Keep an eye on the arancini in the pan, turning when golden brown. Once cooked add them to a place on top of kitchen roll to soak up any excess oil
For the dip
- Simply pop Green Peas, Fresh Mint Leaves, and Olive oil into a food processor and blend until smooth, top up with salt and pepper as per taste.
Notes
- For binding of balls you can use boiled potatoes.
- Fry the balls on medium heat.
- You can vary content of Leek and add other ingredients in the risotto to suit your taste (you can add shredded chicken or fish if you a non-vegetarian).
Loved making these, as delicious as I remember the non vegan version being!
Glad you loved these.
xx