Recipe test: Arancini (crispy risotto balls) from Jamie Magazine
So I’m pretty sure I’ve made these before, but seeing as they’re made with leftovers and we’re such utter pigs that there’s rarely any leftovers in our house, it was always going to take a while. Yesterday, though, I made a chicken, pea and spring onion risotto and made sure I made some extra so I could give this one a go.
First thoughts: it’s damned messy. I mean, I’m a messy cook at the best of times, but even I was shocked at how the kitchen looked like a high speed road accident when I’d finished. Also, it will induce you to swear. No really. Read on.
The recipe is in a section on risotto and recommends that you make arancini with risotto that’s either overcooked (what? It’s rice. Just eat it) or leftover. It didn’t, however, mention that it’s really bloody difficult to roll squishy rice into balls when there are large chunks of chicken and runaway peas in it. Take my advice and use plain risotto for this.
Anyhoo, take your leftover risotto (about 300g for 4 people), and roll into small balls (see above re: messy. I advise using very wet hands):
If I had read the recipe properly, I would have discovered that you’re supposed to push small squares of dolcelatte or mozzarella into the centre. I had neither, but seeing as mine were overflowing with extra ingredients anyway, I cracked on.
Next comes the really messy bit. You have to take your balls (stop it), roll them in flour, then in beaten egg, and then in breadcrumbs. Obviously you need to use a light touch here, otherwise your hands start to get bigger and bigger as they get coated with more flour, egg and breadcrumbs (Nigella calls it ‘goujon fingers’), but even with the lightest of touches I still ended up looking like I’d been tarred and feathered, well, breadcrumbed, by an angry mob.
Messy stuff over, Jamie recommends that you deep fry them, but obviously I’m far too accident prone to get involved in deep frying, and to prevent first degree burns and the embarrassment of having to ring Hubby and tell him I’d burnt the house down, I settled for generous shallow frying instead.
Be warned: this is really painful. The rice pops as it cooks, sending out scorching sprays of boiling hot oil (‘Mummy, stop saying ‘shit,’ *sigh*, you’re such a lady’). I really needed one of those flat, sieve-like things that my Mum’s got that you put over the frying pan to stop it spitting, but I didn’t have one so I just braved it and swore like a trooper instead.
The end result was, I have to admit, well worth the mess and the pain. The outsides of the balls are golden and crispy, and I can imagine that the addition of a gooey mozzarella centre would made them extra delicious. Obviously it’s a bit difficult to know what to serve with them, as more rice would be overkill, indeed, any kind of carbs seemed wrong, so I settled for some steamed veg and it made quite a nice light supper.
I’ll definitely make them again. And you’ll be pleased to know they’ve been nicknamed ‘swearballs’ after my potty-mouthed outburst. So much better than ‘arancini’ don’t you think?
(Jamie Magazine is out now (issue 6 Oct/Nov 09) and if you subscribe you get a free copy of Jamie’s America too.)
21 Responses to “Recipe test: Arancini (crispy risotto balls) from Jamie Magazine”
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I agree about how long it would take to have enough leftover risotto for a whole meal…
Son No. 1 makes these. He has an Italian girlfriend – genuine ‘lives-in-Italy’ Italian (though she’s applying for jobs over here), and she’s got him interested in Italian food, though she hates cooking herself. LOL!
He wouldn’t let me have any. He said they had egg in them to bind the rice. If it’s only in the breadcrumb bit, I can probably handle it.
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