Arancini Patties
If you have some leftover risotto, one of the most delicious things you can do with it is transform it into these Italian-style fried rice balls. They’re good quite plain with just some cheese worked into them, or with other scraps of leftover meat or veg mixed in. Authentic arancini are deep-fried and have a molten centre of mozzarella, but these simple patties are much less fuss to assemble and easy to shallow-fry! Makes about 6 patties
Method
To make large arancini with a surprise centre, make 2 patties (don't flour them yet!) make a dimple in the middle of each and spoon a tasty filling into only one of them.
Place the non-filled patty, dimple side down, on top then squish the 2 patties together to seal in the filling and shape to make a single, fat patty. Repeat with the rest.
Fry as above and serve piping hot.
Filling options:
Cubes of mozzarella or blue cheese.
Fried mushrooms, with cooked peas.
Scraps of ham or chunks of cooked sausage.
Cooked spinach and pine nuts, mixed with some soft goat’s cheese.
Serving suggestions
These are fantastic served with an arrabiata sauce!
Ingredients
250–350g cold cooked risotto
50–70g Parmesan or other hard cheese, grated
Any scraps of cooked meat or fish, torn or chopped into small pieces
Any cooked veg, such as mushrooms or courgettes, chopped small, and/or peas
Some soft herbs, such as parsley, dill, lovage, chervil and/or chives, chopped (optional)
1 egg, beaten, to bind (if needed)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the coating:
Some plain flour
1–2 eggs, lightly beaten (optional)
Couple of handfuls of fine breadcrumbs (optional)
For frying Sunflower oil
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Veg Cookery
Who needs meat? During the River Cottage Veg cookery course you'll learn to turn local, seasonal produce into delicious veggie dishes.
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