Ingredients
- 1 brown onion, finely diced
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 x 400g cans chickpeas, drained
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ground fennel seed
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- juice of 1 lemon
- ½ cup semolina
- salt flakes and freshly-milled black pepper
- 12 mini bocconcini balls, finely diced
- 1 cup plain flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1½ cups breadcrumbs
- vegetable oil, for deep frying
- saffron aioli and chopped parsley, to serve
Instructions
1 Sauté the onion in half the olive oil for 3 minutes, until softened, then combine with the chickpeas, garlic, spices and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor and purée until very smooth. Fold in the semolina then season with salt and pepper and fold in the bocconcini.
2 Pipe the mixture into small cylinder shapes on a lined tray, then freeze until firm. Dust with flour, shaking off the excess, dip in egg, then coat well in breadcrumbs. Fry until golden brown then drain well, sprinkle with salt, and serve with saffron aioli and chopped parsley.