SERVES: 6 (MAKES 12) | PREP TIME: 25 MINUTES | COOK TIME: 30 MINUTES
INGREDIENTS
250g arborio rice
400ml water
2 tbsp pesto of choice
(basil, rocket, sundried tomato)
1 vegetable stock cube
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
200g breadcrumbs
50g flour
150ml water
sunflower oil to fry
3 tbsp mayonnaise
½ lemon - juice
2 garlic cloves - crushed
vegetable oil for frying
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat your oven to 180C.
In a heavy pan over medium heat, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and the arborio rice. Stir continuously for 5 minutes until lightly browned, and remove from heat.
Add the rice and 400ml of water to an oven proof dish. I like to use a bread loaf tin but the recipe will work for any type of tin, so long as the rice is completely covered by the water. Crumble in the stock cube, add the black pepper and salt, and stir in a figure eight with a spoon three times. Cover the dish with tin foil, making sure that there are no gaps or holes, to ensure that the rice can steam well.
Cook the rice at 180C for 30 minutes. Once ready, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before moving on to the next step.
Divide the mozzarella into 12 even sized pieces.
To shape the arancini, take 1 tbsp of risotto in the palm of your hand, roll into a tight ball and flatten in the palm. Place a piece of mozzarella in the middle of the risotto circle and bring the risotto back into a ball shape by closing your hand. Move from hand to hand, tightening the risotto ball. Repeat with the rest of the risotto.
Place the breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl, and combine the egg, flour and 150ml of water in another bowl. One by one, breadcrumb the arancini by placing them into the egg batter and then into the breadcrumbs.
To cook you can shallow fry or deep fry using vegetable oil. For either option, make sure that the oil is extremely hot before adding the arancini to the pan. Cook for 6 minutes until golden and crisp.
To make the aioli, mix together the lemon juice, mayonnaise, garlic and season with salt and pepper.
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