Arancini

Arancini. Perhaps the most beautiful and moreish of the Italian finger-food. A ball of risotto, coated in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried.

I first discovered this bundle of joy when peckish for a snack in (very up-north from its original Sicily) Verona. As the rest of the Donatantonio clan made their way to the trusted Gelateria, I nosied around for my sweet Romeo, and settled on a golden ball averaging the size of my head: The 'Ragù Arancini'.

When replicating this, I cooked my risotto up with tomato paste & saffron, replaced the ragù filling with mozzarella, and (I know, controversial) baked them. My resulting arancini are in fact closer to Rome's (sort-of) equivalent: the 'Supplì di Riso'.

🌾 Makes approx. 8 arancini

Risotto

• a glug of olive oil

• 300g Arborio rice

• 1 white onion (diced)

• 2 large pinches saffron

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• 1 litre chicken stock (2 cubes)

• 100ml sherry

• 2 tbsp butter

• a large chunk of parmesan (grated)

Arancini

• breadcrumbs

• 2 eggs

• ball of mozzarella

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1. Firstly, make your risotto

2. Glug a good amount of olive oil into a large saucepan.

3. Add the diced onion, and salt and sweat for approx. 5 minutes on a medium-high heat, until they turn translucent. Don't let them burn!

4. Bring the pan to a medium-high heat. Add the rice, and cook for a few minutes, letting the rice slightly stick to the bottom of the pan and then scraping it off. It should sound crackly.

5. Add the saffron to the hot chicken stock.

6. Add the sherry to the pan until it covers the surface of the rice. Cook over a medium-high heat, stirring continuously until the sherry has absorbed into the rice.

7. Add the saffron-chicken stock until it covers the rice, along with the 2 tbsp of tomato paste. Cook over a medium-high heat, stirring continuously, until the stock has absorbed into the rice.

8. Repeat this process two more times with the hot saffron-chicken stock.

9. When the third addition of the stock has absorbed and the rice is very creamy, bite a couple of grains of rice to check that it is cooked perfectly. If it is still a little crunchy, add boiling water, and repeat process.

10. When rice is cooked perfectly, remove it from the heat.

11. Toss in the butter and grated parmesan, and whip. The rice should be creamy, but still flow and hold its own shape.

12. Once cooked, place in a bowl, cover with clingfilm, and put in the fridge.

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Making the arancini

13. Once cooled, take your risotto out of the fridge.

14. Place a baking tray on the side, as well as cracked and beaten eggs in one bowl, and your breadcrumbs in another.

15. Preheat your oven to 180'C (fan).

16. Cut your mozzarella into 8 cubes.

17. Take a tbsp of risotto mixture, flatten in the palm of your hand, place a mozzarella cube in the centre, and wrap the rice back around it.

18. Form into an even circle, roll in the raw egg mixture, and lastly in the breadcrumbs.

19. Place on the baking tray, and repeat with the rest of the rice.

20. Cook in the oven for around 20 minutes, till nice and golden.

21. Bite in and beware that stringy mozzarella!