Arancini | Cheese Filled Risotto Croquettes

We discovered these little bites of rice heaven at the Boathouse, a local water side restaurant here in Richmond.  (They catered my wedding, yum!  Too bad these weren't on the menu then)  From the first bite, you just fall in love.  They have an unbelievably crispy exterior that breaks a bit when you bite into them, then you get the soft, creamy risotto, and the surprising stringy bite of mozzarella... OMG, these things are the best appetizer ever!  Seriously, can you go wrong when you combine fried crunchy, salty creamy and cheesy gooey?  Heck no!  They serve their Arancini with roasted red peppers and artichoke, but for my first time, I decided to stick to just the Arancini itself.

I looked up a billion recipes for these and have to say that if you give them a try yourself, keep it simple.  There was one suggestion that called for you to add an egg and heavy cream to the day old risotta, all I have to say to that is: DISASTER!  It took my perfectly old sticky rice and turned it back into a soft gooey mess.  Needless to say I had to start all over and was forced to wait another 24 hours.  I also suggest that you refrain from adding either pancetta or prosciutto inside with your mozzarella, not only does it add to the cost of this pretty inexpensive dish, the prosciutto becomes an unappetizing hard ball inside the Arancini...it was as yucky as it sounds.

I'm sad to say it was harder to make these than I was hoping, I think it's all in the texture of your rice.  I had to wash and thoroughly dry my hands in between every two balls!   Let me tell you, there was a lot of cussing and huffing and even a little rice throwing during this part.  The rice just did not want to stick together!  Once they were all formed though, the rest was a breeze, and they fry up in seconds.  You must make these, they were worth every bit of frustration and the unexpected extra day wait.

Arancini

Risotto, refrigerated over night

3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups Panko
1 cup flour
fresh mozzarella ball (cubed)
olive oil or vegetable oil
day old risotto, prepared
tomato sauce 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pot to 350 degrees.  You want enough oil to almost, but not completely cover your Arancini. 

2. Set up your dipping stations using three medium sized mixing bowls.  Fill bowl one with just flour, bowl two with eggs and milk (beaten), and in bowl three, fill with the bread crumbs and Panko.  Have a baking sheet (with sides) lined with parchment paper ready.

3. Take about 2-3 tablespoons risotto, form into a ball then smoosh into your hand.  Place 1-3 pieces of your cubed mozzarella cheese (depending on size) in the middle of your smooshed ball, cover and reform into a tight ball, drop into the flour.  I recommend doing these in groups of 3-4 at a time, once you have 3-4 balls in the flour, shake off excess then put them into the egg mixture, making sure they get well coated, then drop them into the Panko mixture.  Again, make sure they are covered well, shake off excess and place on the parchment lined baking sheet.

4.  Once all of your balls are formed you're ready to fry them.  The oil should be good and hot, they'll brown in less than a minute (probably about 20-30 seconds).  Don't stop moving them, turn them over regularly, once they're a nice rich brown, get them out and back onto the baking sheet.

5.  Heat the Arancini in the oven for 8-10 minutes, this will finish their cooking and melt the mozzarella inside.  Serve immediately with your favorite tomato sauce!

* When making your risotto, I recommend adding 1/2 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese.  Cool completely before covering and putting in the refrigerator, you do not want to trap any liquid in there.

Interesting tidbit:  Cheese Arancini are known as Telefono or Telephone Fritters for the string or 'telephone line' of cheese that stretches between the two halves when broken open!

If anyone out there has suggestions on the frustrating ball forming portion of this, I'd love to hear it, as I will be making these again and again!

Spanakopita

Is anyone else as intimidated by Phyllo dough as I am?  Just the thought of having to work like a mad woman to avoid Phyllo disaster terrified me...and now I know why.  While this wasn't the hardest thing I've ever done, it wasn't totally easy either.  


I absolutely LOVE Spanakopita...it's buttery and flaky and salty and cheesy, and seriously, what else do you need in life.  I used to pick up a box of the frozen stuff regularly and eat just that for dinner.  I've tried fresh, and to be honest, this box frozen stuff was actually better, sad but true.  (I'm sure there's some great fresh stuff out there, I just haven't been lucky enough to get any yet)  Then the worst thing ever happened...Kroger stopped carrying it!  WTF, what in the world would cause them to do that? 


Maybe it's a good thing after all, the stuff can't possibly be good for you, and if I'm forced to make it myself I'll dang sure be eating a lot less of it.  That being said, it was awesome and totally worth my effort!  I made the first batch over the weekend and took it to a moms group meeting, there wasn't any left to take home, so I guess they liked it.  I personally thought it was missing something, so I changed it up a bit for the second round, and I (and the hubby), both think it came out much better.


Every recipe I read said to just use melted butter (or olive oil), but I just so happened to catch a Good Eats episode where Alton was making Baklava, he recommended using clarified butter when working with Phyllo dough so that you would eliminate the water in plain melted butter...so that's the way I went here as well.  If you've never made Spanakopita yourself, I highly recommend giving it a try!

Spanakopita 

aka Greek Spinach Pie | Spanakopitakia 


1 1/2-2 Sticks unsalted butter, clarified and cooled
1 lb fresh baby spinach
1/2 lb feta cheese, crumbled
1 egg, beaten
4 Tbs fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 Pkg Phyllo dough, thawed (1 8oz pk)
1 tsp ground nutmeg
olive oil


1. Wilt your spinach with a tablespoon or two of olive oil, you'll most likely need to work in batches.  Allow the spinach to cool, squeeze out as much liquid as possible, rough chop and put into a medium sized bowl. 


2. Sauté chopped onion and parsley in olive oil until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes.  Add to spinach, along with egg, lemon juice, feta and nutmeg, combine until all ingredients are well mixed.


3.  Lay out 1 piece of Phyllo dough, brush with  butter, overlap with one more piece of Phyllo, brush again with butter.  Using a sharp knife (or a pizza cutter), cut your Phyllo into 3 strips, (picture below to help give you a visual).


4. Place about 1 1/2 Tbs of spinach mixture at the end of each strip of Phyllo.  Roll into triangles, like you would the American Flag :) 


5.  Continue until you've used all of your spinach mixture.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until they're nice and golden.  Sprinkle with a little salt while they're still hot. 


Tips: 
1. Keep your Phyllo under plastic wrap and a damp towel while you're working with it.
2. You can make these ahead (about 3-4 days), freeze before cooking, then when you need them, just pop them in the oven frozen!
3. If you aren't interested in all this work, make a pie in a baking dish instead.  Bake for about 40 minutes, cutting into slices about half way through.
 

 

Mismatched Meals and the Farmers Market

Sometimes, you just have to go with a craving, even if it means you end up with a mismatched meal. This past Saturday the hubby and I, along with the three boys headed out early to the South of the James @ Forest Hill Farmers Market. I didn't even know we had a South of the James market...we Southsiders tend to be left out of the loop so to speak. My neighbor had found the place and told me all about it, I was so excited.

I'm happy to report we weren't disappointed. There was a little music, a bunch of craft exhibits, great smelling food and lots and lots of fresh produce. (It's small of course, nothing like the big fancy ones, but I'll take what they have to offer and run with it!)

I was really wanting to make up a bunch of fresh foods so hence, my mismatched hodgepodge of a meal.

T and I were seriously craving some bruschetta, so I decided to take full advantage of our market finds and make a pesto based, Mozzarella Tomato and Basil Bruschetta, and it was pure heaven!

Pesto

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

2. Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Makes 1 cup

Sliced Tomato Topping

1 large tomato
¼ cup olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1. Make a small slit in the skin of your tomato and drop into a pot of boiling water. Boil for 45 seconds - 1 minute. Remove tomato and place immediately into an ice bath.

2. Peel the tomato, remove all seeds and dice.

3. Mix tomato with olive oil and minced garlic.

Balsamic Reduction

Bring 1 cup balsamic vinegar to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until reduced by half. You know it's done when it sticks to the back of a wooden spoon. If you like yours a little sweeter, add in a ¼ cup light brown sugar before starting the boiling process.

Garlic Infused Butter

1 stick of butter, clarified
3 garlic cloves, peeled/whole

Clarify 1 stick of butter, add in your garlic cloves and marinate for about 20 minutes. Remove garlic and that's it!

Pesto based Mozzarella, Basil and Tomato Bruschetta

Slice up a crusty french loaf on the bias, place slices on a sheet pan. Brush each slice with Garlic Infused Butter and bake at 375° for about 3 minutes. Remove the pan, on each slice, spread pesto, layer with a slice of fresh mozzarella cheese and basil. Place the pan back in the oven and bake until the cheese in melted. Top each with fresh tomatoes and drizzle with balsamic reduction.


We also found potatoes and onion and garlic at the market so I decided to throw it all together and roast a chicken. Ina has an amazing roast chicken recipe, I just unfortunately forget to pick up leeks. Watch her video on this one, it's worth the 5 minutes. I don't have a picture of the finished product, my family inhaled it...must have been good!