Cheesy arancini

Turn your leftover risotto into delicious fried nuggets of rice and mozzarella.

Credit: Mary Makes It Easy

• serves

  3

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

Arancini

• ¼ cup (30 g) plain flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• ¼ tsp Italian seasoning
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• ½ cup (30–50 g) breadcrumbs or panko
• 1½ cups leftover risotto
• 6 1½ cm (generous ½–inch) cubes brick mozzarella
• canola oil, for frying
• flaky sea salt
• prepared tomato sauce, optional
• 8–10 sage leaves, optional
• Parmesan (Parmigiano-Reggiano), for grating, optional

Mary’s basic risotto

• 3 cups (750 ml) low sodium chicken or vegetable stock
• 3 tsp (15 ml) olive oil
• 2 shallots, finely diced
• kosher salt
• 1 cup (220 g) Arborio rice
• ½ cup (125 ml) dry white wine
• ¾ cup (68 g) finely grated parmesan (Parmigiano-Reggiano)
• 3 tsp (14 g) unsalted butter, optional
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Mix-ins such as lemon zest and juice, chopped sundried tomatoes, green peas, finely chopped parsley, chives, or sauteed mushrooms (if using mushrooms, use mushroom broth in place of the chicken or vegetable stock)

The cooking and preparation times given are for the arancini. If yuo can, allow another 10 minutes of chilling time for the shaped balls. The risotto recipe, which takes about 45 minutes in total, makes enough for four servings the night it’s made, or two servings the night it’s made then one recipe of Cheesy Arancini the next day.

Instructions

1. To make risotto, heat the stock over low in a medium saucepan.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Add the shallot, season with salt and cook just until translucent and lightly golden around the edges, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add in the Arborio rice and cook for 1 minute while stirring continuously to toast the rice.

3. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add in the white wine. Stir until almost all of the wine has been absorbed then start adding the warm stock about ½ cup at a time, stirring well after each addition and leaving it to bubble away until absorbed before adding and stirring in the next ½ cup of stock.

4. Once the rice is tender, stir in the cheese, butter, if using, season with salt and black pepper and stir through any mix-ins to heat through. Serve immediately.

5. Place any leftovers in a sealed container for up to three days to use for arancini.
6. To make the arancini, set out a small baking sheet or dinner plate and have some paper towel close at hand. Fill a small bowl with tap water and set it on your workstation.

7. Place the flour in one small mixing bowl, the beaten egg in another and the Italian seasoning and salt in the third. If using panko, place it into a small food processor or a heavy-duty zip top bag and pulse or crush into a slightly finer crumb. Add breadcrumbs to the Italian seasoning and salt and mix well to combine.

8. Lightly wet your hands with some of the tap water and scoop ¼ cup of the prepared risotto into your hands. Flatten the risotto slightly and place a cube of mozzarella in the centre. Wrap and pinch the risotto around the cheese to form a ball and fully enclose the cheese. Place the arancini ball onto the baking sheet or plate and continue with remaining risotto and cheese.

9. Working with one at a time, toss the arancini in the flour followed by the egg, then roll in the breadcrumb mixture. Place back onto the baking sheet. Chill for 10 minutes.

10. In a deep sided, heavy bottomed pan, heat 7-8 cm (3 inches) of canola oil over medium heat until it reaches 175°C (350°F) or a small sprinkling of breadcrumbs into the oil bubbles and browns in about 5 to 10 seconds. Fry the arancini until deeply golden brown all around, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oil onto a sheet of paper towel and season immediately with flaky sea salt. If using sage leaves, quickly fry them by adding to the hot oil for approximately 10 seconds, just until crisp, then drain on paper towel.

11. Serve hot as is or with prepared tomato sauce and fried sage leaves.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.