We are combining jollof rice with some spices to make arancini, an Italian deep-fried rice ball — a great way to use up leftover jollof rice.
The jollof rice arancini is a West African x Italian fusion product that was birthed from the need to use up leftover jollof rice. Do not get me wrong, I love jollof rice on its own, but sometimes I need to switch it up — enter Jollof Rice arancini. This delicious ball of goodness is filled with delicious, spicy and fragrant jollof rice, a few herbs and spices and vegan cheese. It is the perfect snack or appetizer for any function.
What you will need for the Jollof Rice Arancini
This dish is incredibly customizable to your taste
- Leftover Jollof Rice: You can use any leftover jollof rice you have or even a failed jollof rice recipe. If you want to try making your own Jollof, please check out my blog post (click here)
- Add-ins: I used chopped onions, herbs and chopped pepper but you can use any herb of choice or you can just stick to rice. I also attempted to include vegan cheese in my aracini — this is not necessary at all. I wanted to try something out.
- Liquid: I used plant-based milk to soften my rice so that it is easier to shape as a ball. If your rice is already soft, no need to add more liquid.
- Spices: I used a jollof rice mix from Ekaterra to add more flavour back to the rice but feel free to use any spice you want
- Crust: I used a combination of flour, plant-based milk and panko bread crumbs to fry the aracini. Using a vegan liquid egg works well to coat the arancini before breading.
How to make Jollof Rice Arancini?
- Using room temperature Jollof, mix in your spices and liquid till you can comfortably shape the rice into a ball
- Using wet hand hands, take a thumb-size piece, flatten it, add in your vegan cheese (if you are using it), and place another thumb-size Jollof on top.
- Mould it into a ball.
- Coat it in bread crumbs using a flour, milk and bread crump drench process.
- Deep fry till golden on each side
You can actually put this as a small chops plate in combination with a few favourite recipes
FAQ and Substitutions
- Can I use brown rice Jollof? Absolutely, I have a brown rice Jollof recipe you can check out (click here)
- Can I air-fry these? Yes! I air-fried mine at 380°F for 15-20 mins, flipping halfway. You do want to spray it with some oil for a nice crispy outside.
- Can I make this gluten-free? Yes you can, just make sure to use gluten-free bread crumbs as well as gluten-free flour for the breading process.
What to serve this Arancini with?
If you like this recipe, please leave a comment and tag me on social media (@eatwithafia on tik tok and instagram)
Jollof Rice Arancini
Servings: 6 balls
Ingredients
- 2 cups of old jollof rice at room temperature
- 2 tbsp of finely chopped onions *
- 1 tbsp of chopped herbs I used basil and thyme *
- 1 tbsp of finely chopped bell peppers I used some leftovers from my peppered goat recipe *
- 1 tsp of jollof rice spice mix *
- 2-3 tbsp of plant-based milk
- 1 slice of vegan mozzarella cheese cut into small pieces optional
- 1/2 cup of flour
- 1/2 cup of plant-based milk or water
- 2 cups of panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- This recipe is very customizable so these instructions serve as guidelines.
- In a bowl, combine the jollof rice, onions, herbs, pepper, and spices, 1 tbsp of bread crumbs and mix well
- If your jollof rice mixture is very dry, add in your plant-based milk or water, 1 tbsp at a time till everything is well combined and you can comfortably mold into a ball
- Using wet hands, crab a thumb size amount of rice, mould and flatten in your palm, add the mozzarella cheese (if you are using) then press another thumb size piece of rice mixture on top. Mould into a ball and set aside.
- Once you have shaped all your arancini, place them in the fridge for 10 mins to rest as you prep the breading process.
- To bread the arancini, dip them in flour first, then in a bowl with plant-based milk, then generously coat in bread crumbs, making sure all sides are coated properly. Repeat this process for all the balls
- To deep fry, heat some vegetable oil in a pot till hot (not too hot) and fry the arancini till golden brown on each side (takes about 3 mins on each side). Keep an eye on it so that it doesn’t burn.
- Take the arancini from the oil and place it on a paper towel to drench out the oil.
- Serve hot with some ranch dressing.
Notes
- sesonings are incredibly costumizable
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