Vegan Black Trumpet Arancini (Air Fried)
Talk about a treat! These black trumpet arancini are everything I dream about- crispy, flavorful, savory goodness, using foraged mushrooms I found myself. There’s nothing quite as special as using ingredients you foraged or grew, and so it’s great to find a special recipe to feature them in. These vegan arancini use rice that’s been infused with black trumpet mushrooms, and in the center are more black trumpet mushrooms for even more black trumpet flavor.
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Foraging for Black Trumpets
As the summer of social distancing continues, one way I’ve managed to get together with my family is for a few socially distant hikes. We all live within a 4 hour drive of each other, so getting together occasionally, outside, masks on, has been something we’ve been able to do. This hike brought my mother, sisters, and I, along with a few boyfriends, to a forested area we’ve never explored before. It was a cool day, and the trails were empty except our little group. As we walked, we saw boletes galore, and other fun finds like a beefsteak mushroom. But it wasn’t too long before we found what I had really been hoping to come across. And, at first, I walked right past them.
Perfectly camouflaged with the dead leaves on the ground sprung the curled, brownish to black tubes of the black trumpets. And once you saw one, you saw 50. And once you saw 50, all the sudden you couldn’t see a single one any more. Picking the black trumpets was an extended game of trying to focus and refocus your vision to ignore the crumbled leaves, and center on the small black mushrooms. We continued down the trail and found a second patch, larger even than the first. I had found black trumpets before, but never this many at once! A week later we went back, and even more of the mushrooms littered the side of the trail. Focus, re-focus. We came home with such bounty, even after splitting them, that I made several dishes from a single harvest. And yes, I’ll be checking back next week!
Disclaimer- use caution when foraging wild edibles, and always be certain of your identification. While I assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided on this site, I can’t be responsible for the accuracy of your information. Consult multiple websites, books and local experts, and when it doubt, do without.
How to Identify Black Trumpets
My mom’s friend, after seeing a photo of our score commented, “They’re black! Throw them out!”. My heart still hasn’t recovered from that, because black trumpets are a prized and truly delicious edible mushroom. To the unexperienced eye though, they might look a little like mushrooms that have seen better days. Black trumpets are actually a fairly easy mushroom to ID. They are black to brown in color, and are shaped like a vase or the bell of a trumpet. As they age, the ruffled edges of the mushroom will sometimes split. The flesh of the black trumpet is thin and delicate. It should also be fairly dry- if it’s mushy, you know you got there too late. This mushroom has no true gills, some looking completely smooth and others having slight gill-like wrinkles. Find them in summer and fall in New England, in the dirt in forested areas. The only thing I’ve ever found that I might consider a “lookalike” would be some other mushroom that had died. From far away, similarly sized mushrooms the have started to decompose might look a little like trumpets, but a closer inspection should clarify that for you pretty quickly.
What are Arancini?
Arancini (said aran-CHEE-nee) are a delightful little Italian snack, and a staple of Sicilian cooking. The name comes from the Italian for “little orange”, since the traditionally fried little rice balls look sort of like a small orange. The balls are typically made from rice coated in breadcrumbs, and often filled with cheese or a different filling, all deep fried. The result is a crispy exterior with a creamy rice interior, and a savory surprise in the center. Interestingly, in the city of Palermo, arancini are eaten to celebrate Santa Lucia day- instead of the Santa Lucia buns I’m used to. We decided to shake things up a little with this recipe by using a foraged mushroom, and opted out of deep frying and went for the air fryer instead.
Looking for Air Fryer Recipes? Try one of these!
- Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts with Vegan Sriracha Mayo
- Easy Air Fried Crispy Potato Tacos
- BBQ-Braised Vegan Air Fried Seitan Recipe
- Vegan Air Fried Cream Cheese Wontons
- Air-Fried Eggplant in Spicy Garlic Sauce with Jicama
If you’re looking for an air fryer, you can get one here.
Making Black Trumpet Arancini
People who have strong opinions about the “right” rice, forgive me. I’m sure what I did here counts as a sin. I used sushi rice to make my Italian arancini. It’s what I had, and it worked really well, but if you’re a purist you can always use the traditional Arborio rice instead.
To start off, this dish works best when it’s made over the course of two days so your rice has time to cool properly. To make our rice, we first make a mushroom broth. Simmer your black trumpets for about 10 minutes to get some of the flavor in the liquid, and then use that liquid to make your rice. Save the mushrooms too, because that will be your filling. Mix the seasonings in with your rice, and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Now it’s arancini time!
Scoop the chilled rice into balls, and stuff with a little of the chopped black trumpets. I found it really helps to have your hands well oiled when shaping the arancini, as it prevents the rice from sticking. Every now and then I’ll also rinse my hands off before re-oiling and continuing. Then roll it in breadcrumbs so it’s totally coated and you’re ready to air fry. I used a little more oil in this recipe than I normally would with my air fryer (although still considerably less than deep frying!) because I wanted to get a really good crisp on my arancini. Make sure you cook them in batches so the air still has plenty of room to circulate. And you’ve done it! Crispy, air fried, black trumpet infused and stuffed, vegan arancini!
Vegan Black Trumpet Arancini (Air Fried)
Ingredients
- 1 loosely packed cup of fresh black trumpet mushrooms
- 1 cup dry sushi rice
- ¼ tsp. dried oregano
- ¼ tsp. dried basil
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs
- Olive oil, for cooking
Instructions
- Add your black trumpet mushrooms to a small saucepan along with 1 ¾ cups of water. Bring to a simmer, and let simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, and drain the mushrooms making sure to reserve both the mushrooms and the liquid. Let the mushrooms dry for a few minutes, and then refrigerate them until needed.
- Rinse your rice well, then place in a sauce pan with 1 ½ cups of the black trumpet cooking liquid. Bring the rice up to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and allow to cook covered until the water is absorbed. Once the rice is cooked, let it rest for a few minutes before adding the dried spices, salt and pepper, mixing well and cooling in the fridge overnight.
- The next day, chop your cooked black trumpet mushrooms into small pieces. Take your rice from the fridge and use a small cookie scoop to equal balls. You should get around 16 in all. Make sure your hands are well oiled to prevent sticking before you start to form the arancini. Use your thumb to press a hole into the center, and add a small amount of the chopped black trumpets. Push rice back over the hole, and roll smooth again. Repeat with the remaining rice. Roll the rice balls in breadcrumbs, coating them well, and set aside.
- Working in batches, heat your air fryer to 400°F (200°C). Add your arancini, making sure they have plenty of room, and drizzling lightly with olive oil. Cook for 12 minutes, and then move on to the remaining batches. Serve warm, with tomato sauce if desired.
Notes
Note that the rice must cool at least for a few hours but ideally overnight. Active cook time is much shorter
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