Cauliflower Rice Balls
Cauliflower arancini from Lotito
Among the new tastes at the Summer Fancy Food Show was Cauliflower Arancini, an “Italian Street Food” from Lotito sold frozen for foodservice. They were delicious… crunchy and gooey with melted cheese… but a novelty rather than an actual keto/gluten-free snack because they were made with regular bread crumbs. What would happen if we made cauliflower rice balls using a cauliflower breading instead?
Ingredients:
2 c cauliflower rice (made by grating whole cauliflower)
1 c mixed shredded Italian style cheese
2 beaten eggs
½ c frozen peas
¾ t salt
1 t Italian seasoning (mixed oregano, thyme, marjoram)
Bread crumbs made with cauliflower bread or regular bread
Cauliflower rice ball preparation
Method: preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix ingredients except bread crumbs in a bowl and form into 1 ½ inch balls. Roll the balls in bread crumbs to coat thoroughly (it’s ok if some of the crumbs get mixed with the very loose cauliflower blend because they will help the balls hold together) and transfer to a sheet pan with parchment paper or silicone pad. Roast 10 minutes or until cheese melts and crust browns slightly. Serve hot.
Cauliflower rice balls as they came out of the oven. The ones to the right had some breading mixed in to make them firmer.
We can’t really call these arancini because they weren’t crusty, but as a rice ball appetizer/vegetable course they are excellent with nice flavor and attractive presentation.
