RICE ARANCINI

My brand new friend Morgane, who I met at the school I attend to learn
Danish, asked me if I knew how to make Arancini.
It is an Italian dish that she likes a lot, and she would love to prepare
it at home for her friends.
Arancini, which means little oranges in Italian, originated in Sicily.
Name and appearance aside, arancini are not at all related to the orange fruit;
they're fried balls of risotto.
I usually don't prepare this dish because the rice balls are fried, but as today
I had some left over risotto, and I remembered about my friend's request,
I decided to surprise my family with a treat.

This is the way I made them, but I will also attach at the bottom the original
Sicilian recipe.


I used a bowl of left-over risotto (it was a butternut and provolone cheese one)

Then I prepared the ingredients for the dipping and the frying: 2 beaten eggs, one small bowl of flour, one small bowl of bread crumbs, vegetable oil

To the risotto I added 1TBS beaten eggs and 1TBS parmesan and mixed it well.
I gently formed small balls (1TBS rice) with my hands and I rolled them into the flour.
Afterwards, I dipped them into the eggs and I rolled them into the bread crumbs

The rice balls were ready to be deep fried in hot vegetable oil

When the balls were golden on both sides I removed them from the pan and put them on a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.

I served them warm as an appetizer with a nice glass of white wine !

Mozzarella filled risotto arancini (from Epicurious)

ingredients
3 cups leftover cooked risotto
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
2 Tbsp heavy cream
2 Tbsp minced fresh flat-leaf parsley, chives, oregano, or basil
1 large egg yolk
Salt and freshly ground pepper
5 oz mozzarella or Fontina cheese
All-purpose flour for dredging
Egg wash: 1 large egg whisked with 2 Tbsp cold milk or water
1 cup fresh white bread crumbs
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
2 cups tomato sauce
preparation

In a large bowl, combine the risotto with the Parmesan, cream, herbs, and egg yolk. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut the cheese into 16 cubes. Scoop up about 3 Tbsp of the risotto mixture and pack it around a cube of cheese to make a croquette, a ball the size of a Ping-Pong ball. Repeat to form 16 croquettes.

Put the flour, egg wash, and bread crumbs in 3 separate bowls. Dredge the croquettes in the flour, dip in the egg wash, and roll in the bread crumbs. Chill thoroughly, 2-24 hours.

Pour oil into a tall pot to a depth of 5 inches. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it registers 375°F on a deep-frying thermometer. Deep-fry the croquettes in batches, without crowding, until they are evenly browned, 4-5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer to paper towels to drain briefly. Serve on a pool of warmed tomato sauce.

From Cooking at Home by The Culinary Institute of America, © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

TALKING ABOUT BROTHS

Did you know that broths used to be a dietary staple, as were fermented
foods, and now the elimination of these foods from our modern diet is
largely to blame for our increasingly poor health?
Chicken broth and the vegetables one are very healing,
they are nutritious and an excellent source of minerals.
I personally prefer the vegetable broth and I want to share my recipe
with you.
You can put it in a glass jar and store it in the fridge for few days
or you can freeze it.
You can just drink it nice and warm or you can cook some tortellini
or small pasta in it.

VEGETABLE BROTH


Ingredients:
2 carrots, peeled and cut in halves
1 sweet potato or half butternut, peeled and diced
1 potato, unpeeled and cut in half
1 onion, coarseley chopped
1 cm piece of ginger, peeled
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 tsp origanum
1 piece of kombu
1 or 2 celery stalks
2 TBS chopped parsley
1 TBS miso paste
salt to taste
4 lt of filtered water....
and other veggies of your choice if you have them in the fridge

In a big pot put all the ingredients except the miso paste and bring water
to boil.
Simmer for at least 1 hour.
Add the miso paste and adjust salt.
You can then strain the broth and serve it as tea or you can use it for dinner,
cooking in it tortellini (filled pasta).