Can't go wrong!

I knew I was probably getting into trouble when I put arancini on the list for last week’s poll, but I couldn’t help myself! I also couldn’t think of too many other foods that were round.

It’s not really the most summer-y dish in the world (hot oil, hot stove, hot risotto), but I wanted to try to make this version as summer-y as possible. So I came up with the idea of folding in fresh corn into the risotto. It gave it a wonderful sweetness.

Now, I’ll be completely honest. I’m not sure that I would ever make this just to make arancini. The risotto is fantastic on it’s own. So I’d encourage you to make that as a meal, but maybe double the batch, and then make arancini with the leftovers the next day or something!

Fresh Corn Arancini

Yield: Makes 40 arancini.

Prep Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 2 hours + some chilling time

Ingredients:

3 ears fresh corn
1 medium onion, diced
4 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1.5 Cups Arborio rice
1/2 Cup white wine (optional)
8-10 cups chicken stock (or veggie stock), hot
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
Salt and pepper

For Arancini:
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups bread crumbs
1 Teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Salt and pepper
6 ounces sharp cheddar (or you could use a spicy cheese and eliminate the cayenne)
Canola or peanut oil for frying

Helpful Equipment:
Deep Fry Thermometer

Directions:

1) Cut your corn off the cob and add it to a large pan over medium-high heat with 2 Tablespoons of butter. Cook for a few minutes until it soft, but not browned. Remove it and set aside.

2) Add 2 Tablespoons oil and butter to the same pan and the chopped onion. Cook until soft, but not browned, just a few minutes.

3) Add risotto rice to pan and cook for 30-60 seconds to heat the rice.

4) Deglaze the pan with white wine (or water) an stir.

5) Start adding hot chicken stock to the rice 1/2 Cup at a time and stir continuously until rice is translucent and soft, but has a slight bite. Keep adding chicken stock as the rice dries out. After 30-40 minutes the rice should be cooked through.

6) Stir corn back into risotto along with Parmesan cheese and taste for salt and pepper.

7) Cool risotto completely. It'll probably take 4 hours in the fridge. Overnight is best though.

8) Mix your bread crumbs and spices together and cube cheese when you're ready to make the arancini.

9) Take a small spoonful of risotto and add a cube of cheese to the center. Do this with all the risotto and set the finished balls on a baking sheet.

10) Once all the balls are formed, dip each ball in egg wash and then coat in the spiced bread crumb mix.

11) Allow the balls to set up in the fridge for at least an hour.

12) Fry the balls in 350 degree oil until they are a deep golden brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel for a minute before serving.

Making the Risotto

Like I said, I never really plan to make just arancini (except this time). I usually just make extra risotto and then use the leftovers for arancini.

I think people are intimidated by risotto, but I honestly think it’s a chef’s trick. It’s almost like they don’t want you to know how easy it is to make because then they couldn’t charge you $20 for a 1 Cup serving of it.

I digress… let’s make some.

You’ll need to start with some really nice fresh corn. If you just can’t find this, you can use frozen, but you can’t use canned. Not allowed.

Don't use canned obviously.

Also, when you’re searching for Arborio rice, it’ll sometimes be in a box called “Risotto Rice” or something like that. This will be expensive. I don’t recommend buying it that way.

I recommend finding a place that sells it bulk (even Whole Foods does). Then you can scoop out as much as you want. It usually runs like $1.50-$2/pound which actually makes this meal pretty affordable.

I keep my rice in a big plastic container.

I'm gonna start making more risottos.

Start this dish by melting 2 Tablespoons of butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Once it’s melted add all your corn after you cut it off the cob.

Let this cook for a few minutes until the corn is soft, but not browned. It should smell like, well, corn.

Don't overcook it.

Once your corn is done, remove it from the pan, add another 2 Tablespoons of butter and 2 Tablespoons of oil. Once that’s hot, add your chopped onion and let the onion cook down until it’s soft over medium-high heat. Again, you don’t want them really browned, just soft.

Then add all your rice!

The start of something wonderful.

The risotto process is always the same from here on out:

1) Cook your rice in the dry pan for about 30 seconds, stirring continuously.
2) Deglaze the pan with your white wine. It’ll sizzle! Continue to stir. If you aren’t using white wine, you could just use water.
3) Start ladling in your hot chicken (or veg) stock about 1/2 cup at a time. Keep slowly stirring.
4) When the rice is looking dry, add more stock.

Remember. There’s no need to stir aggressively. Sometimes people make risotto a workout. It doesn’t need to be that. Heck. You can even walk away from it for a minute or two. The rice will never know!

After about 25 minutes of this, you should be almost home. You’re rice will have expanded a lot.

Getting close...

Taste it!

Always taste risotto as it cooks. Is it crunchy? Needs more stock. Does it have a tiny bite to it? Perfect. You don’t want it soggy.

When you’re at a consistency that tastes good to you, stir in your corn and also your grated Parm! Now would be a good time to taste for salt and pepper also. It’ll probably need a good pinch of both.

Yum.

Eat it!

You’ve worked hard. Eat this now while it’s hot and at it’s best. Save the arancini for the next day.

The next day!

One reason why you really don’t want to jump right into the arancini is because your risotto needs to cool completely before you even attempt it. If you plan on making it the same day, you need to make your risotto early and let it cool for at least 4 hours!

When you’re ready though, you’ll need a few extra things. Starting with cheese!

Something spicy would work also.

I used a really sharp cheddar for mine. In hindsight, I think I might have used something spicy like Pepper Jack.

You’ll also need some eggs lightly beaten to coat the arancini and then finally a bread crumb mixture. Spice goes very well with corn so I added a big pinch of cayenne to my bread crumbs. If you use pepper jack, this might not be necessary.

Spicy!

Shaping the Arancini

You can make these, theoretically, as big or small as you want. I think about golf ball size is good. Using cold risotto makes this a lot easier. I’ve tried it with even room temp risotto and it’s a lot harder.

I find that it’s easier to roll all my arancini and then go back and coat them with bread crumbs.

To make one, just scoop out a small handful of risotto, put a cube of cheese in the middle, and mold the risotto around the cheese, forming a ball.

Once you have all the arancini formed, then it’s pretty easy to coat them. Just dip each one in the egg mixture and then roll it around in the spiced bread crumbs.

I think it took me about 15 minutes to make 20 or so of these.

Not shabby!

Cooking the Arancini

Deep fry the arancini (a deep fry thermometer is handy) at 350 degrees for about 4-5 minutes until they are a deep golden brown. I use canola oil for frying normally. Don’t try to do too many at a time or they won’t brown well.

Also, don’t forget about them or they might explode!

I always like to do a test one before I start tossing them in in batches. My test turned out pretty darn good!

Always do a test!

As did my batches!

Best leftovers ever.

Risotto is quickly becoming one of my favorite dinners. It’s extremely filling and actually fairly economical. Once you get the method down you can make tons of variations and the leftovers can be eaten as-is or turned into these little globes of goodness!

What do you think? Successful? Are you scared of risotto?

When you bite into the first arancine though the first thing you will do is look at how many are left and calculate how many you can score before you are labeled a complete pig. Because of the citrus zest, these guys are light and refreshing.

Citrus arancine is a definite win.

So good.

Arancine (or arancini according to Wikipedia. I’ll stick with Bon Appétit’s spelling) is normally made with leftover risotto which makes for a great quick appetizer. This dish however calls for fresh risotto. For the life of me I don’t really know why. I think the only reason why is because citrus risotto is not something that you would maybe want by the bowl.

Frankly though, I would eat this stuff by the bowl without a problem. So my advice is to make double, eat it as a side dish one night, and then make arancine the next day.

Citrus Arancine

Yield: About 30.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 Cup shallot, finely diced (you can substitute white onion)
1.5 Cups arborio rice
1 Teaspoon salt
3/4 Cup white wine
6 Cups low-salt chicken or vegetable broth (You may not use all of it. I always error on having too much rather than not enough.)
1 Teaspoon ground fennel seed (freshly ground is best if you can)
1 orange, zest only
1 lemon, zest only
1 lime, zest only
30 1/2-inch cubes (about 6 ounces) of young sheep's milk cheese like Brinata. I think you could substitute a wide variety of cheeses here.
3 large eggs
1/4 Cup whole milk
3 Cups panko breadcrumbs
6 Cups vegetable oil for frying

Helpful Equipment:
Deep Fry/Candy Thermometer

Directions:

1) Pour in a quart of stock and add one carrot, a few celery stalks, a whole head of garlic chopped in half, and one onion. Roughly chop everything. Then add a pinch of salt, some parsley, and about 20 peppercorns, plus about 2 or three cups of water. Let that simmer for about 30 minutes and then strain it.

2) While the stock simmers you can get some other ingredients ready like you shallots and the citrus zest.

3) Add the butter, olive oil, and shallots into a large pot. Stir on medium-high heat until the shallots are translucent.

4) Add the rice and salt. Stir rice for 3 minutes or so.

5) Add the white wine all at once and stir until it is all absorbed.

6) Ladle in 1/2 Cup of stock at a time into the rice mixture. Stir it until the stock is all absorbed (about 3 minutes), then add another 1/2 Cup of stock. Repeat this until the rice is nice and creamy. This whole process should take 30 minutes.

7) Stir in the fennel seed and all of the citrus zest.

8) Spread the risotto on a sheet pan and stick it in the fridge. Test for salt! It will cool down in about thirty minutes.

9) Whisking together the eggs and milk and putting the breadcrumbs in a bowl.

10) Cube up the cheese.

11) Once the risotto is cooled, take a big Tablespoon of risotto and place a piece of cheese right in the center. Form a ball and dip it in the egg mixture followed by the breadcrumbs.

12) Line up all the arancine on a sheet pan!

13) Refrigerate for another 30 minutes (and have a mojito).

14) Heat up the oil at about 350 and drop them in five or six at a time depending on the size of the pan. They should take about 5 minutes to fry up and be golden brown delicious.

15) Drain on a paper towel and let them cool for a few minutes before devouring them.

Adapted from Sept. 2009 Bon Appetit.

The Stock

Risotto is just rice. Well, plus some onion and butter, but really it is just rice. The only real flavor in a risotto dish comes from add-ins (like mushrooms or in this case citrus) and stock. So it’s pretty important to get a good stock. Ideally, you could make it yourself, but if you just don’t have time you can also enhance store bought stock in about 30 minutes.

I always like to enhance my broth a bit.

Pour in a quart of stock and add one carrot, a few celery stalks, a whole head of garlic chopped in half, and one onion. Roughly chop everything. Then add a pinch of salt, some parsley, and about 20 peppercorns, plus about 2 or three cups of water. Let that simmer for about 30 minutes and then strain it. That will leave you with a much more flavorful stock than you would have otherwise.

While your stock simmers you can get some other ingredients ready like you shallots and your citrus zest.

A little zest. A lot of flavor.

The Risotto

If you are making the risotto and the arancine the same day, be sure to give yourself plenty of time for the risotto to cool. It’s not really possible to get hot risotto to stay in ball form.

Before starting your risotto, make sure your stock is simmering. It doesn’t have to be boiling hot, but it should be pretty close.

To get your risotto going, add your butter, olive oil, and shallots into a large pot. Stir on medium-high heat until the shallots are translucent. Then add your rice and salt. Stir rice for 3 minutes or so. It will be very dry obviously. The point is to heat up the kernels of rice so they open up and allow in more moisture later.

Then add your white wine all at once and stir until it is all absorbed.

Then comes the hard part. Ladle in 1/2 Cup of stock at a time into the rice mixture. Stir it until the stock is all absorbed (about 3 minutes), then add another 1/2 Cup of stock. Repeat this until the rice is nice and creamy. It should be tender but still have a tiny bite to it. This whole process will take probably 30 minutes.

Your arm will be tired, but it’ll be worth it.

Creamy perfection.

At the very end, stir in your fennel seed and all of your citrus zest. If you want to make the arancine right away, you can spread the risotto on a sheet pan and stick it in the fridge. It will cool down in about thirty minutes.

Chillin.

Very Important Note: Taste your risotto for salt before cooling it down. I forgot to do this and my final arancine was very much lacking in salt. Salt now or pay later!

While the risotto chills, you can prep the stuff for forming the arancine. Prepare your breading station by whisking together your eggs and milk and putting your breadcrumbs in a bowl.

You’ll also need to cube up that cheese.

Don't make these too big.

Now if you are like me, that will only take you about 10 minutes and your risotto will be nowhere near cool.

If you are like me, you’ll notice that you have an entire lime, lemon, and orange leftover from the zesting. These should not just go to waste!

Finally, if you are like me, you like mojitos.

I decided to whip up a few of these for me and my dinner guests while the risotto chilled.

Tasty.

Here’s the basic recipe.

Citrus Mojito

- 1 Tablespoon sugar (Muddle with the mint)
- 5 sprigs fresh mint
- 1-2 ounces white rum (depending on your workload)
- 2 ounces citrus juice (lime, lemon, and/or orange)
- Top with soda water

The Arancine

Sorry. Back on track. These guys are pretty easy to form. Even easier if you can find a helper or two. Take a big Tablespoon of risotto and place a piece of cheese right in the center. Form a ball and dip it in your egg mixture followed by your breadcrumbs.

Then line up all your arancine on a sheet pan!

An army of arancine!

The recipe in BA says to refrigerate these for six (YES 6) hours before frying them. That seems kind of ridiculous to me. I refrigerated them for another 30 minutes (and had another mojito).

Heat up your oil at about 350 and drop them in five or six at a time depending on the size of your pan. They should take about 5 minutes to fry up and be golden brown delicious.

After a hot bath.

Drain them on a paper towel and let them cool for a few minutes before devouring them.

Ooze is a good thing.

These were really tasty. They were very light and refreshing considering that it’s really just fried rice and cheese. As I said, I messed up on the salt thing. Kind of an amateur mistake, but whatever. It took us a few arancine to discover what was missing. One of my friends sprinkled a bit of salt on one and screamed out, “SALT!” Problem solved. Not a problem I usually have though.

Arancine are kind of elaborate to make, but if you have the time and are looking for a good recipe, this one is definitely a keeper.

Meanwhile, I thought I would write about a simple little shrimp taco dish I made a week or two ago. I also found a fun way to use my left over rice and beans from the burritos I made.

Healthy and tasty. Who knew that was possible?

So this dish was not my idea. It was actually Betsy’s idea. She saw it in a book called “Cook Yourself Thin” that I’m actually reviewing this Sunday. I wouldn’t have picked up the book, but a few people told me it was good.

The first step in this dish is making a really awesome pineapple-mango salsa to go on the tacos. It is a bit sweet and spicy and adds a great texture to the dish.

Mango and Pineapple Salsa (adapted from Cook Yourself Thin)

- 1 large mango, diced
- 1/2 red onion, chopped fine
- 1/2 red pepper, chopped
- 1/2 fresh pineapple (the book uses canned, but I prefer fresh for salsas)
- 1 lime, juice only
- Handful of cilantro, chopped
- Salt

Lots of chopping in my future.

There is a lot of dicing to do, but it is good practice. You could make this at least a day in advance.

The longer it sits, the better it gets.

After I made burritos a few weekends ago, I had a LOT of leftover rice and beans in the fridge so I thought I would make some arancini with them. In other words, this dish was getting a bit too healthy so I decided it needed something fried.

The key to this arancini is finding a really spicy cheese to put inside it. If you can’t find a spicy cheese then make sure you spice up the rice and beans nicely.

Luckily, I was able to find this very spicy habanero cheddar at the store.

Seriously spicy cheese.

Your rice and beans should be kind of sticky. Basically I grabbed a palm-full of the mixture, stuck a cube of the cheese in the center, and then rolled up the ball.

It took me a few tries to get it right, but eventually it worked out. A few of them I would have to press pretty hard to get the rice to stick together. This definitely isn’t as easy as making arancini with risotto because risotto is much stickier.

A bit difficult to form, but you can handle it.

After you get the ball rolled, send it down the standard bread crumb line. Flour with some salt and pepper is in the red bowl, 2 whisked eggs is in the green bowl, Italian style bread crumbs are in the orange bowl. If you don’t have Italian style, just add oregano and basil to normal bread crumbs.

Flour, egg, bread crumbs. Standard.

I was able to get quite a few of these guys done. You can also do these ahead of time. Just keep them in the fridge to make sure they stay nice and firm.

Pretty little things.

Fry these, completely submerged in oil at 325-350 degrees. I used Canola oil because I had some on hand, but you could use any oil that can stand the heat. Do them in groups depending on the size of your pan. Don’t overcrowd them or they won’t brown well. They’ll take 5-8 minutes a batch. When they are a deep brown on the outside they are good to go. I always recommend using a deep frying thermometer to make sure your oil is the right temp.

OK. So now all we have left is to make some shrimpies. I was able to buy these shelled already which saves some time. Make sure to get fresh ones though. Also, I like the medium sized shrimp for these (around 25-30/pound). Any bigger than that and they get kind of awkward in the taco.

Some spices are necessary also.

Hard to go wrong here.

Saute a few cloves of garlic in the pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil and then add all your spices. After everything cooks together a bit, add all your shrimp. These will only take a few minutes to cook. When they turn slightly opaque they are done.

The recipe in the book added a few Tablespoons of tequila at the end of this recipe which I think is a fantastic idea. I didn’t happen to have any around and I didn’t want to go buy some just for this recipe. If you have some around, use it, but it was delicious without it.

Don't forget to take off the tails...

Take a tortilla, add a few shrimp and some of the salsa. Serve with the arancini balls. I also recommend a nice cold beer with this dish.

A slice of heaven.

I really liked the tacos, but I’m telling you that these rice and bean arancini deals were off the charts. Spicy and cheesy and fried. Can’t beat that.

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