Oven Baked Arancini

Whenever I make risotto I make too much. I do it on purpose! I love it so much and I know I am going to get those flavours in a slightly different way the day after. Arancini is my wife’s favourite dish to order as a starter or light lunch when we go out for dinner. If it’s on the menu, she is going to order it. I never made it the conventional way in a deep fryer but I have tasted the full fat version when nicking a taste from the wife’s plate. The acidity of the feta and cream cheese sit lovely with my homemade arancini dip. I am usually lost for words when I eat these lovely creamy rice balls. I just wished I had tried more of them before I couldn’t go near the deep fried kind. That doesn’t mean that the oven baked variety I now make are lesser vessels of loveliness. Yes, you can tell they haven’t been deep fried – there’s no way around that, but in this case (and mine) it’s a good thing. All the taste and crisp breadcrumbs, but without all the nasty, hip hugging fat.

As you can see in the photo, arancini make a cracking lunch or dinner. This time I make it with a side salad, roasted mini portobello mushroom and a simple serrano wrapped chicken breast. Yum!

Recipe

Leftover risotto – Usually about 100-150g

Feta cheese

Plain flour

2 eggs

Breadcrumbs

Method

1. Refrigerate your leftover risotto overnight.
2. Prep the flour and breadcrumbs into separate bowls. Preheat your oven to 180 C Fan assisted.
3. Roughly chop the feta cheese and incorporate into the risotto.
4. Roll the risotto into evenly sized balls.
5. Coat the balls in flour and then in the whisked egg. Place directly into the breadcrumbs and gently roll until the balls are covered.
6. Spray the balls with some low calorie oil. I use a vaporiser to spray a small amount of rapeseed oil.
7. Cook in the centre of the oven for 20-25mins.

Dipping sauce (Extra)

¼ Chopped tomatoes or passata

1 Shallot

1 tsp Garlic granules or 1 clove of garlic

1 tbsp Light Soy sauce

Chicken stock cube in 75 ml of boiling water

4 Olives

Fresh Basil

Method

1. Finely hop the shallot and place on a low heat in a saucepan with a small amount of oil. Heat until the shallots are browning. Add the garlic and cook for another 1-2 mins.
2. Use a hand blender to blend the chopped tomatoes or use passata. Add to the onions.
3. Add the soy sauce and chicken stock and simmer for 10 mins
4. Crush or roughly chop the olives and add to the sauce. Simmer for a further 3-5 mins
5. Chop or tear the basil leaves and add to the sauce and cook until the basil wilts.
6. Serve as a dip or over the top of the arancini with some shaved parmesan.