Yummy South African pap (maize meal) arancini recipe
Made with maize meal instead of risotto
Pap (or maize) arancini is a South African variation of the Italian dish. Swopping traditional risotto for the with stywe pap (stiff maize porridge), the balls are usually deep-fried until crispy. For this version, I opted to make a healthier version and oven-baked the South African aracini balls instead. Served on a tomato base and covered with cheese, this dish pairs well with boerewors and other braai meat.
Ingredients
1750 g maize meal
3 cups chicken stock
50 g butter
1 can whole peeled tomatoes
100 g parmesan cheese
100 g cheddar cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
fresh herbs for serving
How to prepare the dish
Make your chicken stock in a pan and bring to a boil.
Slowly whisk the maize meal into the boiling chicken stock.
Cook on low, stir continuously with a wooden spoon for 15-20 minutes until the pap has thickened.
Add the butter an stir through.
Stir in a handful of grated cheddar and parmesan mix, as well as salt, and pepper.
Let it cool completely until it is firm enough to handle.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Empty the can of whole peeled tomatoes into an oven-proof dish. Take a handful of the parmesan and cheddar cheese and sprinkle over the tomato sauce base.
Once the maize has cooled down, roll it up into equal-sized balls.
Place the maize balls onto the tomato sauce base and over with the remaining grated parmesan and cheddar cheese.
Bake in the oven for ten to twenty minutes, until the cheese has melted.
Sprinkle fresh herbs over before serving.
This pairs well with braai ribs (how to make ribs from scratch) and mielies, and a fresh salad.
Enjoy! Please tag me on Instagram if you’ve made this recipe, I’d love to see it!
More braai recipes
Below the newsletter block, you will find some more braai recipes.
There are a lot of different types of meats you can cook on the braai. How about this Prime Rib Roast with Exotic Mushroom Sauce and Pak Choy? You can also make a Leg of Lamb on the braai or a Lemon & Herb Peri-Peri and Rosemary Deboned Leg of Lamb. I’ve also made Ostrich Fillet Kebabs with Nectarine and Rosemaryon the braai.
Other than meat, South Africans also love to put seafood on the braai. This braaied snoek recipe with plum jam is a winner.
If you’re looking for a side on the braai, you can either make this pull bread with pesto, mozzarella and Hellmann’s mayonnaise or make traditional braai broodjies(keep an eye out for my secret ingredient). If you have leftover gammon, these gammon braai broodjies are also to die for.
About Shawn Godfrey
Photo credit: Niki M Photography
Shawn Godfrey is an entrepreneur based in Cape Town, South Africa. After the Covid-19 lockdown saw his business in financial distress, cooking was the creative outlet that helped to keep him sane. To keep track of his recipes, and encourage friends and families to join him, he starts his instagram account The Roasted Dad.
Fast-forward to late 2021 - on a whim Shawn (encouraged by his wife Lianne) enters MasterChef South Africa. It is a crazy time of life: running a 200 people business and struggling to keep it profitable, two small children with a third on the way, and about to move into a new house. But when Shawn gets selected to be one of the 20 contestants participating in the fourth season of MasterChef South Africa, he decides to go all in. Leaving his 7-month-pregnant wife to look after their then three and one-year-old children, he battles it out and comes back home five weeks later with the trophy and a million rand prize money in his pocket.
It all started with an Instagram account, but The Roasted Dad is so much more now. Shawn has stayed his entrepreneurial self and whilst he hosts Private Dinner Parties and Cook-with-Me Demos, does Restaurant Take-Overs, he still runs the lighting company and several other businesses.
On his blog, Shawn shares restaurant reviews and accommodation reviews, and gives an insight into the wild and wonderful life he leads together with his wife Lianne, and their three children Aiden (8), Olivia (6) and Harvey (4).
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