Arancini
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 60 minutes plus cooling time (3 hours or overnight plus 4 hours in fridge)
Cooking time: 90 minutes
Makes 10 large arancini
For the risotto:
- 2 litres/0.4 gallon hot chicken stock
- Pinch of saffron strands
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 50g/1.7ozs. butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 500g/1.1lbs arborio rice
- 250ml/8.8flozs white wine
- 100g/3.5ozs. parmesan cheese
For the ragu:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 1 stick celery, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic
- 250g/8.8ozs pork and veal mince
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup/125ml/4flozs. white wine
- 300ml/10.6flozs. spicy pasta sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 beef stock cube
- 1 cup/150g/5ozs. peas
-
Salt, pepper and sugar for seasoning
-
50g/1.7ozs. mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup/132g/4.7ozs. flour
- 200ml/7flozs. water
- 100g/3.5ozs flour
- 3 cups/360g/12.7ozs. panko breadcrumbs
- 2 litres/0.4 gallon oil
Step 1 - Make the risotto first as it needs to cool completely. Soak the saffron in the stock for 10 minutes. Fry the onion in the butter on medium to low heat in a large saucepan and then add the rice and coat in the butter adding oil. Mix the stock and white wine together and pour a little into the rice and allow to absorb. Keep stirring and adding more stock slowly until the rice has absorbed it all. Stir in parmesan cheese and taste for seasoning.
Thermomix directions: Soak the saffron in the stock for 10 minutes. Chop onions at speed 5 for 5 seconds. Add butter and cook for 5 minutes at 100C on speed 0.5. Add stock, wine and rice and cook at 100C for 20 minutes speed 0.5 MC out. Then stir for 5 minutes at speed 1.
Step 2 - Spread out onto a tray and cool. Then cool in the fridge for 3 hours or overnight.
Step 3 - To make the ragu heat the oil in a frypan and add the onion, carrot and celery and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes or until softened and fragrant. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Then add the mince and brown. Then add bay leaves, wine, pasta sauce, tomato paste and beef stock cube and simmer for 30 minutes or until the mince is soft and most of the liquid has absorbed. Add peas and warm through. Taste for seasoning.
Thermomix: Chop carrot, celery, onion and garlic on speed #5 for 8 seconds. Add oil and cook for 10 minutes speed 1, varoma. Add the mince, bay leaves, wine, pasta sauce, tomato paste and beef stock cube and cook for 30 minutes, 100C speed 1. Add peas and warm through for 3 minutes, 100C speed 1. Taste for seasoning.
Step 4 - Please note that the arancini need to sit in the fridge for 4 hours before frying. Have a large bowl of water ready to dip your hands in. Have the ragu ready as well as the mozzarella. Line 2 trays with parchment and make room in your fridge for these.
Step 5 - Grab a ball of rice-a tennis ball's size is perfect and shape into a ball. Then using your thumb and fingers hollow out a cavity-this gets better with practice and you will get the "walls" thinner with practice. Add some mozzarella and ragu and then put the ball down and shape another ball and flatten it and place it on the end as a "plug". Seal up the arancini so that the ragu and cheese aren't exposed. If there are gaps take a few grains of rice and plug the gaps. Then shape into a cone. I use my hands as shown below. Place on the tray and repeat with the remainder. Refrigerate for minimum 4 hours.
Step 6 - When you're ready to fry them finely process the breadcrumbs in a food processor or Thermomix (10 seconds speed 9). Place flour in a shallow bowl. Then in another bowl whisk the water and flour together to form a pastella batter. Heat the oil in a large pot or deep fryer and then roll each arancini in the plain flour, then the pastella and then the breadcrumbs. Fry for 8 minutes until golden on the outside and make sure to turn it. Serve immediately so that the cheese is nice and melty.