Arancini (risotto part 3)

Arancini

When I cook risotto I purposefully cook more than I need so that I can make arancini the next day.  Arancini, which means little orange, are small balls of risotto which are crumbed and then fried and are oh so good.  I had butternut squash as a nibble at a friends wedding reception in the summer with lots of mozzarella stretching out of it as you bit in to it, people still talk about how scrummy they were – though maybe not the best choice for people dressed in their finery with all that hot cheese oozing about.  I serve mine with a small bowl of homemade passata (cold) for dunking.

Arancini (using leftover risotto)

Ready for the pot

Serves 4-6 as nibbles or part of an antipasti selection or 2 with a salad for a main meal.

Roughly 2 persons worth of leftover risotto (nothing too chunky or you’ll struggle to roll it into balls)

60g mozzarella, cut into rough 1cm cubes

1 egg, beaten

2 tbsp plain flour

White breadcrumbs

Litre sunflower oil

Preheat the oven to 190C

Take a golf ball sized amount of risotto and flatten in your palm, then pop in a cube of mozzarella and roll until the mozzarella is inside and cannot be seen (it may need a bit of a squidge).  Repeat with the rest of the risotto and cheese. (Do try to resist nibbling the cold risotto, not that I ever can).  

Not exactly a diet food

Pour the oil into a large saucepan or wok and heat the oil to the point where a cube of bread takes twenty seconds to turn golden.  Pop in your balls* (men – do not take that too literally or you could have a horrid accident), and fry for about 5 minutes until golden all over, cook in batches if necessary. 

Lift them out of the oil using a slotted spoon and place on kitchen paper so any excess oil is absorbed.  Then pop in the oven in a dish for another 5-10 minutes to ensure that the mozzarella inside has melted.

*Do not be as stupid as me and accidentally get the tip of a finger in the scalding hot oil, it really hurt