Halloumi Arancini with Roasted Vegetables

I've blogged an arancini recipe before, and cooked the traditional Italian stuffed rice balls many times, but this time, I thought I'd ring the changes a bit. Miss K inspired me to make an Greek-fusion version, as she fancied something made with halloumi for dinner. She helped make the arancini, whilst I prepared the tomato sauce and roasted vegetables.

You can make arancini with left over, cold risotto or cook from scratch. They're good fun, although rather messy, to make with children, but if you use halloumi rather than mozzarella, you don't have to worry about them being perfect, as the cheese won't melt and escape! I think this variation is just as good (if not better) than the original.

Makes 8-10 arancini, serve 1 or 2 per person as a starter, 2-4 for a main course

For the arancini:

• 1 cup risotto rice (arborio)
• 2 cups hot vegetable stock (made with a stock cube)
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp fresh, chopped parsley
• 1 tsp chopped fresh chilli, optional
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup of dried breadcrumbs
• 100g/4oz halloumi, cubed

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan.

Gently fry the garlic for a minute or so.

Add the rice, herbs and chilli and stir for a further minute.

Add 1 cup of vegetable stock, stir and bring to the boil.

Reduce to a simmer and add the second cup of stock. Stir again, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
When the rice is cooked, cool at room temperature for 30 minutes and then and refrigerate until cool enough to handle.

To make the arancini:
Take a good heaped desert-spoonful of the cool risotto and form into a firm ball using your hands to squeeze the mixture together.
Poke a hole into the middle of the ball using your thumb, then place a small cube of halloumi into the hole.
Squish the rice back over the hole to cover up the cheese completely. Repeat until all of the rice is used up.
Beat the egg in a bowl and place the breadcrumbs on a plate. First dip each rice ball into the beaten egg and then roll into the breadcrumbs until covered all over.

Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or until needed.

Heat 2-3 tbsp of vegetable or olive oil in a large frying pan. 
Add the arancini and roll around in the pan gently to coat with oil. 
Cook for 10-15 minutes on a medium heat, turning occasionally, until golden brown and piping hot. 
Alternatively, deep-fry for 5-6 minutes.
Drain and keep warm in a low oven until needed.

Whilst cooking the risotto/arancini, make some Greek tomato sauce (you'll only need ½ a portion...so freeze the rest for another meal) and roast your choice of seasonal vegetables.

For the roasted vegetables:

• 2 bell peppers, de-seeded and cut into chunks
• 1 red onion, quartered
• 100g/4oz button or chestnut mushrooms whole/halved/quartered, depending on size
• 50g/2oz sun-dried tomatoes, chopped, plus 2 tbsp oil from the jar
• 50g/2oz Greek olives
• 100g/4oz halloumi, cubed
• 1 tbsp chopped, fresh parsley, to serve

Drizzle the fresh vegetables with the sun-dried tomato oil and cook in a pre-heated oven at 160C/150C Fan/325F/Gas 3  for 15 minutes.
Turn the vegetables and add the halloumi, olives and sun-dried tomatoes and cook for a further 10 minutes. Sprinkle with a little chopped parsley, or any other fresh herbs, before serving.

Top tip: Cooked rice should be cooled quickly and refrigerated, then re-heated thoroughly to avoid food poisoning. 

Vegan option: Omit the halloumi, or substitute for vegan cheese. Coat the arancini with No-Egg, or other egg substitute, mixed as directed with water, before rolling in breadcrumbs.

I'm linking this post to Karen's latest Cooking with Herbs linky at Lavender & Lovage.