Domesticated

This is my go-to appetizer recipe for the holidays- always a huge hit partly because they are so unexpected but mostly because they are an explosion of foodgasm in every bite. I first discovered Arancini (which is Italian for “little oranges”) while flipping through Williams-Sonoma’s Christmas catalogue and right away I looked up the recipe on epicurious (which no longer exists on the site.)

Ingredients

• 3 3/4 to 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus extra for garnish
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup cubed mozzarella
• Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• Tomato sauce, as accompaniment

Directions

1. bring stock to a simmer. Cover and set aside to keep hot.
2. In a heavy Dutch oven or large saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat.
3. Add the chopped onion and saute until transparent, about 4 minutes.
4. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, until rice is opaque and fragrant, about 1 minute.
5. Add the white wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed.
6. While continually stirring, begin adding the stock in 1/2 cup increments, allowing the liquid to become completely absorbed between additions. Cook until the rice is just tender and the risotto is creamy, about 20 minutes.
7. Add the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, heavy cream, basil and salt and pepper and stir to combine well.
8. Transfer to a mixing bowl or baking dish and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
9. remove the chilled risotto from the refrigerator and stir in 1 of the eggs.
10. Using a small scoop or large spoon, divide the risotto into approximately 3 tablespoon portions.
11. Using your hands, form the portions into rough ball shapes.
12. Press a hole into the center of each risotto ball and stuff the center with some of the cheese and press the opening closed and roll the ball between your hands until it is smooth.
13. n a large saucepan, heat 2 inches of oil to 360 degrees F.
14. Place the flour, remaining 2 eggs and bread crumbs in 3 separate bowls.
15. One by one, lightly dredge each risotto ball in the flour, then the beaten egg mixture, then the bread crumbs, so that each ball is completely coated.
16. Set on a cookie sheet and refrigerate at least 20 minutes
17. Fry the balls in batches, a few at a time, turning once during cooking so that they are evenly browned, about 2 minutes
18. Serve with Parmesan cheese and some tomato sauce.

This is what the risotto looks like when its NOT done- the secret to getting risotto to that perfect al dente is constantly testing out the rice and adding more broth until it is absolutely the right tenderness. The rice grains should double in size.

I knew someday I’d need that crusty baguette from Panera! Homemade breadcrumbs really made a difference.

Take that pent-up aggression! An easier approach would have been to use a food processor if I owned one- which I don’t. But I DO own a hammer!

The goal is to get the crumbs into a coarse powder

I like using deeper, narrower bowls for breadding than having the ingredients spread out too thin. Also, using tongs is a great way to keep from breadding your fingers. I prefer to use my hands because it’s faster.

Letting the balls chillax in the fridge. Start to finish these bad boys take about three hours to make so if you know you won’t have that much time you can make them ahead and freeze after assembling the balls.

For a healthy alternative you can bake them at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes- but you’ve seen the list of ingredients so you might as well just go all the way! I’ve made them both ways and the frying method is definitely tastier. Diet food is for January.

All done! All this talk about balls got me thinking back to my favorite Christmas SNL short…