How to: Arancini Balls

Watch here as our Executive Chef, Anthony Horn, prepares the ever-popular arancini balls, a beloved Italian rice ball starter.

Ingredients:

Risotto Rice:
• 50g grated parmesan
• 200g smoked salmon
• 500g risotto rice
• 50ml white wine
• 500ml vegetable stock
• 1 medium white onion
• 1 bunch spring onions
• First pressed rapeseed oil
• 50 g butter
• Table salt

Pane Mix:
• 100g plain flour
• 100g panko breadcrumbs
• 4 whole eggs

Pea Puree:
• ½ medium white onion
• 250g garden peas
• 150ml double cream
• Pea shoots to garnish

Method:

• Dice the onion into a fine dice
• Heat a pan to a medium heat add a splash of rapeseed oil
• Cook the onion in the pan until soft no colour
• Add the risotto rice and cook for two to three minutes, stirring the rice continuously
• Add white wine and cook for a further three minutes
• Gradually add the vegetable stock just covering the rice and continue stirring
• Cook for 14 minutes until the rice is just cooked so still has a slight bite as it will continue to cook whilst cooling add the butter just at the end of the cooking and season to taste
• Finely slice smoked salmon and spring onions add them to the rice when it is just warm
• Leave the rice to fully cool

Pea Puree:
• Finely Dice the onion and sweat off in a medium heat pan no colour
• Add the peas and cook for a further two minutes
• Add salt for seasoning
• Pour in the double cream and cook for eight minutes until the peas are soft
• Blend the peas with half the cream
• Add more cream if you want the puree to be softer

Pane Arancini:
• Ball up the risotto rice to even size balls
• Beat four eggs in a bowl
• Place your plain flour on a flat tray add salt
• Place your breadcrumbs on a flat tray
• Place the risotto balls in the flour then the egg then the breadcrumbs
• This can be repeated a second time to get a crispier thicker coating
• Cook the arancini balls in a preheated fryer at 180 degrees Celsius for five minutes until golden brown
• Alternatively the arancini can be shallow fried in a pan in about 2cm of oil

Plating:
• Place your warm pea puree on the plate
• Add the arancini balls on top and grate fresh parmesan