These Mini Polenta Appetizers Balls are soft, vegan, gluten free and perfect to take out or as a party food, they are easy to make, easy to eat and can be done in advance.
Because all the ingredients are mixed in the dough and then fried these balls are a no mess snack easy to eat without plates, forks or knives!!
MINI POLENTA APPETIZERS BALLS
These Mini Polenta Appetizers Balls are soft, vegan, gluten free and perfect to take out or as a party food, they are easy to make, easy to eat and can be done in advance.
Because all the ingredients are mixed in the dough and then fried these balls are a no mess snack easy to eat without plates, forks or knives!!
- 2 cups White Corn Flour (Harina Pan)
- 2.5 cups water
- 1 onion
- 4 spring onions
- 6 slices Spanish chorizo
- 1 sweet pepper this can be 1 pepper of 1 colour or 1/4 of different coloured peppers
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp chopped chives
- 2 tbsp chopped dill
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil and then more frying
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To a hot pan add the vegetable oil, chopped onions and sweet peppers, stir and leave to cook until soften
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Once cooked remove from the pan and set aside to cool down. Then add the chopped Spanish chorizo without adding any extra oil, reduce the heat of the hob to avoid the chorizo burning
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Once the chorizo has crisped up (approx 3 to 4 minutes) set aside to cool down.
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In a bowl add the flour, water and salt and mix well with your hands to avoid lumps.
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Once the dough is done add the onions, sweet pepper and chopped herbs and mix well with your hands.
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Divide the dough in 2 parts. With one of the part make balls approx smaller than a gold ball. Repeat until all the dough is used.
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Add the chorizo to the other dough and mix well with your hands. Then make the same size balls as with the other dough until all the dough is used.
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Once all the dough is used, heat more vegetable oil in a deep frying pan or in a deep fat fryer.
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Start by frying the veggie balls, once they are all fried, fry the chorizo one. This will avoid cross contamination if you're cooking for vegetarians, vegan and non vegans at the same time.
Extra ingredients to add:
- Cheese - I like to add smoked cheeses like Smoked Scamorza or fresh zesty ones like Feta or Wensleydale.
- Fresh chilli finely chopped
- Grated veggies like courgettes (if you're using courgettes give them a squeeze after grating to remove all the water)
For the last 3 days we’ve been enjoying the Summer weather we’ve had in the South of England, a very rare occurrence when it comes to the UK. Been able to go to the beach for 3 consecutive days without having to bring a jacket is quite an achievement in this country, and all this weather has inspired me to do something to enjoy at the beach, park, garden and as party food idea.
If you’re one of those people that like having recipes so versatile that can be used as a starter, party food for a crowd, snacks, food to go, or as party food for kids, then you’re going to love these Mini Polenta Appetizers Balls becasue they are so versatile you can customise them to your taste by adding extra ingredients to the basic recipe I’m showing you here.
KEEPING & STORING
When I have leftovers I keep mine out of the fridge in plastic or glass container with a clean kitchen cloth on top. The reason I don’t put them in the fridge is because the cold makes them harder and soggier.
If I don’t have any container to put them in, I put them on some parchment paper with kitchen paper covering them, this way they won’t turn as soggy as polenta normally turns when cold.
They can be frozen if you put them in a food safe plastic bag and reheat them when needed. I wouldn’t recommend freezing them raw because ice will damage a little bit the dough and they won’t keep their shape when fried.
REHEATING THEM
My favourite reheating gadget is of course the microwave!!! But realistically it doesn’t work with polenta, so when I reheat these mini balls I either re-fry them in new hot oil or roast them in the oven as if I was making roasted potatoes without adding extra oil.
When re-frying them I do it in hot oil more or less like chips or fried until they are slightly darker than their original colour. If roasting I put them in a roasting tray with no oil at 200 / 220 C for 30 to 40 minutes until they are darker than their original colour.
Either method will make them a bit crispy but they will not have the same crispiness that when cooked from raw. but, nevertheless, still pretty good to eat.
PARTY FOOD FOR KIDS
One of the things I love about these Mini Polenta Appetizers Balls is that they are a hit with kids. When I make them for kids parties instead of finely chopping the veggies I process them in a food processor to leave them as a paste, this way kids can’t really see how many veggies are in the balls 😉
And from this basic recipe you can add more veggies like broccoli, courgettes or spinach, or even make them sweet by using butter nut squash, and kids love the different colour balls.
PARTY FOOD FOR ADULTS
And when I make them for the grown ups I pump them up with Sriracha sauce, fresh chillies, spicy cured meats, olives, or small pieces of strong cheeses like Rockford.
I also like to serve them with a dip of yogurt, spicy home-made tomato sauce, my Venezuelan avocado or lime and coriander dip depending on the flavourings of the balls.
PARTY FOOD FOR A CROWD
And when it comes to making party food for a crowd these are fantastic because you can make the basic dough recipe, divide it in different parts and add different ingredients to each part, this way you’ll have different flavour balls without doing any hard work!!
WHAT OTHER INGREDIENTS TO ADD
Like I mentioned before I like to customise these Mini Polenta Appetizers Balls depending to whom am I cooking them for, but here are some of the other ingredients I like to add:
VEGETABLES
Grated courgettes, chopped broccoli, spinach, savoy cabbage, mushrooms and butter nut squash. Before adding them I like to wilt them in some olive oil, salt and black pepper, this will give even more flavour to the balls.
CHEESES
Mozzarella for pizza, smoked Scamorza, Rockford, Wenslydale, Feta, Gruyere. If I want the balls to have melted cheese I use the Mozzarella for pizza or Scamorza. If is strong flavour what I’m looking for then I use small pieces of Rockford or Gruyere, and if zestyness is what I’m looking for then I use Feta or Wenslydale.
I would not recommend using Mozzarella di Buffala or Fior di Latte because these cheeses have a lot of water and will make the dough to watery. Any cheese used needs to be dry, wet cheeses will make the dough too soft and the balls will not keep their shape and melt whilst frying.
SEASONINGS
Sriracha sauce, fresh chilli, ‘Nduja, lemon or lime zest.
WHERE TO BUY HARINA PAN
USA
UK
SPAIN
ITALY
As always, I hope you enjoy making and eating this recipe especially now with these hot sunny Summer days, these polenta balls are great to take out to the beach, park, garden or party food in your next Summer party or BBQ.
Made this recipe? Rate it and comment below, see you next week with another delicious recipe
HAPPY COOKING! 🙂
