Those gooey balls of risotto with a crunchy crumb coating are the finger food everyone is searching for at the party.
Looking for a mushroom arancini?
Arancini
Crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside.
- 1 hr cooking
- Makes 18 Item
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Ingredients
Arancini
- 2 1/2 cup (625ml) salt-reduced chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small (80g) onion, chopped finely
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1/2 cup (200g) arborio rice
- 1/2 cup (125ml) dry white wine
- 1/2 cup (60g) frozen peas
- 40 gram ham, chopped finely
- 1/2 cup (40g) finely grated parmesan cheese
- 100 gram mozzarella cheese
- 1 egg, beaten lightly
- plain flour
- 1 egg, beaten lightly, extra
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 cup (100g) packaged dry breadcrumbs
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Method
- 1Bring the stock to the boil in a medium pan. Reduce the heat to low and keep hot.
- 2Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan, add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until the onion is soft but not coloured. Add the rice; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the wine, then cook, stirring, until the liquid has evaporated.
- 3Add about 1/3 cup (80ml) of the hot stock; cook, stirring, over a low-medium heat until the liquid is absorbed. Repeat until all the stock is used. Total cooking time will be about 25 minutes.
- 4Stir in the peas, ham and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat, stir in the parmesan cheese. Transfer the risotto to a bowl; cool.
- 5Chop the mozzarella into 18 pieces.
- 6Stir the egg into the risotto. Roll 2 level tablespoons of risotto into a ball; press a piece of mozzarella into the centre of each ball; roll to enclose. Toss balls in flour, shake away excess. Dip into the combined extra egg and milk, then coat in breadcrumbs.
- 7Heat vegetable oil in a deep saucepan; deep-fry the arancini in batches until they are browned and heated through.
- 8Drain on absorbent paper. Serve hot with lemon wedges, if desired.
Notes
This recipe makes 18 arancini. Arancini, which means "little oranges" in Italian, make an excellent finger food or light lunch with salad. The risotto mixture can be made a day ahead. Arancini can be fried several hours ahead of serving and reheated in a slow oven. Don't have the oil too hot as the arancini will burn before the cheese is melted inside. After deep-frying, they can be kept warm in a slow oven.
