Paul Ainsworth’s Sicilian arancini with arrabiata sauce

Arancini are little deep fried balls of crispy yet gooey risotto and something I first experienced in Rojanos in Padstow whilst on honeymoon..I stole one off the wife’s plate as I’d ordered the squid. Ever since then I’ve been craving both the squid and the arancini until I came across the recipe on Great British Chefs.

The recipe is for 10 but made for two  so just scaled down all the ingredients and that’s what i’ve put below, I wasn’t sure if they were any good for freezing. Although I did freeze the left over sauce as I didn’t scale that down, I also added a bit more paprika and some more Tabasco.

Arancini

80g of Arborio risotto rice
1/4 large white onion, finely diced
10g of unsalted butter
0.5 tbsp of garlic purée
sherry vinegar to taste
10g of Parmesan, grated
15g of mozzarella cheese, torn into small pieces
1 bay leaf
200ml of vegetable stock (I’m not sure how much I used as i just kept adding a splash until it had cooked)
60ml of Bolognese sauce
1 egg white
100g of panko breadcrumbs
0.5 tbsp of truffle flavoured olive oil
salt
pepper

Arrabiata sauce

0.5 tbsp of garlic purée
1 large white onion
1 1/2 red chillies, finely diced
1 tsp of olive oil
40g of caster sugar
300ml of balsamic vinegar
3kg of tinned chopped tomatoes
1 bay leaf
0.5 tsp of thyme
1.5 tsp of cayenne pepper
1 tsp of smoked paprika
0.5 tsp of Tabasco
salt
pepper

Method

1. In a large pan, bring the vegetable stock to the boil and leave on a simmering heat
2. Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. Once the butter starts to foam, add the onions and bay leaves. Sweat the onions and season with salt and pepper.
3. Add the rice to the pan and stir continuously for 2 minutes
4. Slowly add the hot vegetable stock, one ladle at a time, whilst constantly stirring. Keep cooking and adding the stock until the rice is slightly over-cooked and sticky
5. Once the rice is cooked, add the Bolognese sauce and stir until mixed with the rice. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside
6. Stir in the truffle flavoured oil, sherry vinegar and garlic. Mix in the Parmesan and mozzarella until combined
7. Remove the bay leaves and check the seasoning. Pour the mixture out into a large tray to cool. Once the risotto is cool, shape into bite-size balls
8. Arrange the egg whites and the breadcrumbs in separate bowls. Dip each ball into both mixtures, making sure they are completely coated. Set aside in the fridge until firm
9. For the arrabiata sauce, place a pan over a medium heat, sweat the onions and chillies off in the olive oil until soft
10. Add the cayenne pepper and smoked paprika, season well and stir. Add the balsamic vinegar and sugar to the pan. Stir and leave to reduce until the vinegar begins to thicken
11. Once it has reduced, add the chopped tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, Tabasco and garlic. Stir the mixture well. Leave on a low heat to simmer for at least 2 hours until it reaches a thick consistency. Keep checking the seasoning throughout
12. Once the sauce is almost ready to serve, lower the arancini into a deep fat fryer set 180°C until golden all over. Divide the arrabiata sauce and serve with the arancini, freeze the rest.