I was testing a rice cooker recently and one of the recipes was Risotto on a specific setting on the machine. To say it was challenging is an understatement but after 6 tests and tweaks we finally came up with a recipe I was rather happy with. And the neighbours were also happy, one can only eat so much risotto! The last test was the best and JT and I had it for supper but it made so much that I had enough left over to make Arancini di Riso, Italian Rice Balls and boy were they delicious!
Everyone has a favourite risotto recipe so I won’t reinvent the wheel, you just need to have some risotto made and cooled (I spread it out onto a parchment lined baking sheet and covered it with plastic wrap in the fridge overnight). The risotto should be able to be formed into a ball, so if your risotto is a little dry, you may want to add a bit of liquid to allow it to stick together in a spherical shape.
Arancini di Riso (Rice Balls)
My mushroom risotto recipe yielded 8 cups (give or take 2 L) but we ate about 3 cups in for dinner, so I estimate that the remainder 5 cups (1.25 L) made 22-24 balls
Ingredients:
- 5 cups risotto
- 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup AP unbleached flour
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella (or 22-24 1 cm or 1/2 inch cubes)
- Fresh basil and Parmesan for garnish
Directions:
- Spread risotto onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate until entirely cooled (overnight).
- Add bread crumbs to a shallow bowl and the flour to another shallow bowl. Lightly beat the eggs with a splash of water and pour into a third shallow bowl.
- Make golf-ball sized balls of the cooled risotto and squeeze a good pinch (or one cube) of cheese into the centre — cover the cheese entirely with the risotto otherwise it will leak out. Continue until you have used up all the risotto.
- Coat each ball in flour, then roll into the eggs and repeat the flour and egg mixture (this will make the balls as crispy as if they had been deep-fried). After the final roll in the egg wash, roll each ball in the bread crumbs to coat well . Set onto a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for future use.
- To bake from frozen pre-heat the oven to 400° F. Spray Arancini and the baking sheet with olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and warmed through; turn often so it bakes evenly.
- Serve with a chunky salsa or tomato sauce.
I can’t believe your figs aren’t super sweet. They look super amazing. Maybe the tree needs another year of maturity.
I’m loving these leftover posts. Makes you think a bit more and generally ends up with something delicious.
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Hi David, I think I may have picked those two a bit prematurely as the third one was significantly sweeter so now I know! Leftovers are always better when you can reinvent them. Thank you for your lovely comments.
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Hello, I adore your cute napkins…everything on the lake is just better isn’t it?
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Thank you kindly Laurie, it certainly is.
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I ‘de these lovely risotto balls & loved every tasty bite, dear Eva!
They were very scrumptious & fab! We drank some good champagne with them. X
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I’m so very flattered Sophie, thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
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I love all of your tasty inspiring recipes! Xxx
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I love that these are baked! They look like they were fried. So pretty! I love arancini! My only problem is that I never have leftover risotto. I always eat it all! That said I’ve never had a good enough reason to leave leftovers. I definitely do now!
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Arancini has been on my cooking bucket list for years! I just need to do it—I know they’d be a hit with the family. Your lake views are gorgeous—reminds me of our Wisconsin trips. And lucky you with a fig tree—I bet next year’s crop will be even better!
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Thank you so much Liz, it’s been on mine too so I was very lucky to have risotto leftover. I sure hope next year we’ll have a lot more figs. Indeed Wisconsin lakes look very similar, our dear friends Paul and T are on Lake Delavan.
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Risotto in a rice-cooker? Isn’t one supposed to stir it all the time? (The only reason why I prepare risotto very rarely… to lazy to stir it). It sounds incredible, but your arancini look great! Baking instead of frying sounds like a fantastic idea (arancini absorb so much oil because of the unequal surface…).
Congratulations for the figs! I had no idea figs would grow in Canada!
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Hi Sissi, it’s definitely a thing because there are several brands of rice cookers with a recipe for risotto. I suspect risotto aficionados may not be convinced of it’s creaminess but even the famous Wolfgang Puck has a rice cooker risotto recipe online, so they must be onto something!
There are a few varieties of figs that grow in our climate but they still cannot withstand the frigid temperatures of our winter so they must be buried in the ground (you dig a trench and bend the tree over and bury it in the ground). We have our tree in a pot and we transfer it to our unheated garage as soon as it gets cold outside; on the really extreme cold days (below -10° C) we plug in the car and the block heater doesn’t let the garage get as cold.
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These look wonderful! I never knew that they could be made in the oven. Good to know!
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Thanks Chef Mimi, baking them at such a high temperature plus coating them twice with the flour and egg wash give it a really crispy coating that really and truly mimics deep frying.
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Wow wee!!
Now this I like!
Great tip on baking at a higher heat instead of frying.
Bookmarking this 😀
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I do hope you enjoy it Dana, I hope to see it on you blog!
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Yes ma’am, message received 😀
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Great thought!
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Thanks Lina
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Your lake photos are beautiful and I love the napkins! I do love arancini balls but I haven’t made any for quite a few years – perhaps it’s because I never have any leftover risotto! You have inspired me to make some xx
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Thank you kindly Charlie, often when I need left overs, I make extra portions.
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This is one of those dishes I have at restaurants, but never make at home for some reason. Maybe because I always devour every last bite of risotto I make? That could be it. 😉 Need to make extra this time, so I can have this. Fun post — thanks.
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I was intimidated by risotto but then a few years ago (perhaps 20) a friend showed me how easy it was, I’ve been hooked ever since.
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Beautiful arancini, Eva. I haven’t had any in ages and was recently thinking that I really should. Nothing like a nice ragu in the middle.
The figs looks gorgeous too. Do they get get sweeter if you roast them? Oh well … you can always drizzle some warmed honey over them.
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Thank you kindly Maria, they were extremely tasty too, I’m very glad I have several still in the freezer for the future! Like most fruit I suspect they would indeed get sweeter roasted but I wanted to taste them off the tree for the first time. I read that they require fertilization so I’ll doing that and we’ll see if they do indeed get sweeter. Yes, honey would be lovely too.
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Fresh figs from your own tree would have been one of my dad’s dreams. 🙂 I hope the added fertilization helps.
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Me too! Thank you.
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Congrats on your figs, I think you picked them too soon reason they are not as sweet, need to wait until they droop and are soft. Many more on the tree? I am still waiting for mine to turn color. Love the idea of baking the arancini instead of deep frying.
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Thanks Norma, the figs were very soft. There are two more on the tree, fingers crossed that there will be more! Thank you.
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A great use of leftover, Eva. They look crisp and gooey!
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I make arancini out of leftover risotto too! Instead of rolling them into balls, I make them into “patties” so I only have to turn them over once while they’re baking/frying. Yours look perfect!
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That’s very clever Michela, I’ll have to try that next time. Thank you.
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Thanks Angie, the breaking was very crisp indeed!
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