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PAP & WORS ARANCINI WITH TOMATO SMOOR

OVERALL time: 180 mins

PAP & WORS ARANCINI WITH TOMATO SMOOR

We’re having great fun giving heritage food a twist this September. It doesn’t come more quintessentially South African than pap and wors with tomato smoor. We turned it totally on its head, taking inspiration from Italian arancini. The Italians use leftover risotto to form small balls, often stuffed with cheese. They’re dipped into breadcrumbs and fried until crisp. So that’s exactly what we did! But instead of using risotto, we used pap. Nestled inside our pap arancini? Wors frikkadels of course!

Pap |
Pap & wors |
Wors |

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Number of servings

ingredients

For the pap and wors arancini:
  • 750 ml Water
  • 375 ml Maize meal
  • 7.5 ml Cape Herb and Spice's Atlantic Sea Salt
  • 500 g Good- quality boerewors
  • 2 Extra large eggs, whisked
  • 200 g Packet of corn flakes crumbs
  • Vegetable oil, for frying
  • Cake flour, for dusting your hands
For the tomato smoor
  • 2 White onion, finely chopped
  • 30 ml Olive oil
  • 2 Cloves of garlic, finely minced
  • 30 ml Brown sugar
  • 5 ml Cape Herb and Spice's Smoked Paprika Tin
  • 2.5 ml Cape Herb and Spice's Atlantic Sea Salt
  • 30 ml Red wine vinegar
  • 2.5 ml Cape Herb and Spice's Piri Piri Chilli 80g
  • 60 ml Golden Sultanas

THIS IS WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO

PREP TIME: 120 mins | COOKING TIME: 60 mins

Start by making the pap as it needs time to cool before you can shape the arancini. Bring the 750 ml water to a boil in a large saucepan. Stir in the maize meal and salt using a large balloon whisk. Once its smooth, cover the saucepan and cook over very low heat, stirring occasionally, until the pap is cooked – it takes about 30 minutes. Allow the pap to cool to room temperature. 

 Squeeze the meat out of the boerewors casing. Roll the meat into even-sized little balls – we did a level 15ml (tablespoon) measure of meat for each ball. Fry off the balls in a non-stick pan with a splash of vegetable oil until cooked through. Set aside to cool.

Make the tomato smoor while the pap is cooling. Simply add the olive oil and onion to a pan and fry it over low heat until soft – take care not to brown the onion as it can make it bitter. Next add the garlic and fry for a further two minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the sultanas), cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Add the sultanas and simmer for a further five minutes. 

To form the arancini, scoop up 15 ml of cold pap and place it in the palm of your hand. Press down to form an indent and place the boerewors frikkadel in the middle. Gently shape the pap to completely cover the frikkadel. (Cook’s note: This is quite a sticky affair so generously dust your hands with cake flour while you’re shaping the pap.)

Roll each pap ball in whisked egg and then immediately in the breadcrumbs. Deep fry until they’re golden and crisp. Like all fried food, these don’t like sitting around, so serve your pap & wors arancini immediately with the tomato smoor for a dipping sauce. 

Recipe by Lizet Hartley Lizet Hartley is a freelance stills and reel food stylist, food photographer and recipe developer. In her spare time she – rather predictably – cooks. Get more of her recipes on her blog at http://www.melkkos-merlot.co.za

Choose measurements conversions

ingredients

For the pap and wors arancini:
  • 750 ml Water
  • 375 ml Maize meal
  • 7.5 ml Cape Herb and Spice's Atlantic Sea Salt
  • 500 g Good- quality boerewors
  • 2 Extra large eggs, whisked
  • 200 g Packet of corn flakes crumbs
  • Vegetable oil, for frying
  • Cake flour, for dusting your hands
For the tomato smoor
  • 2 White onion, finely chopped
  • 30 ml Olive oil
  • 2 Cloves of garlic, finely minced
  • 30 ml Brown sugar
  • 5 ml Cape Herb and Spice's Smoked Paprika Tin
  • 2.5 ml Cape Herb and Spice's Atlantic Sea Salt
  • 30 ml Red wine vinegar
  • 2.5 ml Cape Herb and Spice's Piri Piri Chilli 80g
  • 60 ml Golden Sultanas

Number of servings

THIS IS WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO

PREP TIME: 120 mins | COOKING TIME: 60 mins

Start by making the pap as it needs time to cool before you can shape the arancini. Bring the 750 ml water to a boil in a large saucepan. Stir in the maize meal and salt using a large balloon whisk. Once its smooth, cover the saucepan and cook over very low heat, stirring occasionally, until the pap is cooked – it takes about 30 minutes. Allow the pap to cool to room temperature. 

 Squeeze the meat out of the boerewors casing. Roll the meat into even-sized little balls – we did a level 15ml (tablespoon) measure of meat for each ball. Fry off the balls in a non-stick pan with a splash of vegetable oil until cooked through. Set aside to cool.

Make the tomato smoor while the pap is cooling. Simply add the olive oil and onion to a pan and fry it over low heat until soft – take care not to brown the onion as it can make it bitter. Next add the garlic and fry for a further two minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the sultanas), cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Add the sultanas and simmer for a further five minutes. 

To form the arancini, scoop up 15 ml of cold pap and place it in the palm of your hand. Press down to form an indent and place the boerewors frikkadel in the middle. Gently shape the pap to completely cover the frikkadel. (Cook’s note: This is quite a sticky affair so generously dust your hands with cake flour while you’re shaping the pap.)

Roll each pap ball in whisked egg and then immediately in the breadcrumbs. Deep fry until they’re golden and crisp. Like all fried food, these don’t like sitting around, so serve your pap & wors arancini immediately with the tomato smoor for a dipping sauce. 

Recipe by Lizet Hartley Lizet Hartley is a freelance stills and reel food stylist, food photographer and recipe developer. In her spare time she – rather predictably – cooks. Get more of her recipes on her blog at http://www.melkkos-merlot.co.za

Gallery

Products used in this recipe

Atlantic Sea Salt

Atlantic Sea Salt
Piri Piri Chilli 80g

Piri Piri Chilli 80g
Smoked Paprika Tin

Smoked Paprika Tin
Atlantic Sea Salt

Atlantic Sea Salt