Dipasquales Arancini Recipes

ARANCINI

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring until onion is soft but not browned. Pour in the rice, and cook stirring for 2 minutes, then stir in the wine, and continue cooking and stirring until the liquid has evaporated. Add hot chicken stock to the rice 1/3 cup at a time, stirring and cooking until the liquid has evaporated before adding more.
• When the chicken stock has all been added, and the liquid has evaporated, stir in the peas and ham. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat, and stir in the Parmesan cheese. Transfer the risotto to a bowl, and allow to cool slightly.
• Stir the beaten egg into the risotto. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining egg and milk with a fork. For each ball, roll 2 tablespoons of the risotto into a ball. Press a piece of the mozzarella cheese into the center, and roll to enclose. Coat lightly with flour, dip into the milk mixture, then roll in bread crumbs to coat.
• Heat oil for frying in a deep-fryer or large deep saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Fry the balls in small batches until evenly golden, turning as needed. Drain on paper towels. Keep warm in a low oven while the rest are frying.

DIPASQUALE'S ARANCINI

Steps:

• Saute the onion, celery and carrot with the olive oil until translucent. Add the ground beef and season with salt and white pepper to taste. Once the beef is added, with a wooden spoon, break down any chunks; the beef should be as fine as possible. Add the tomato paste. Once the ground beef and tomato paste begin to simmer, turn down the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes. If the mixture begins to stick, add a touch of water. Add the peas once cooked. Let cool in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
• Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the rice and stir until evenly coated with oil. Add the saffron and half of the chicken broth, stirring continually. Once the broth has been absorbed, continue to add small increments of broth, still stirring continually. Once all of the broth has been absorbed, add the Parmesan and pepper; the rice should be tender but "al dente." Pour the rice onto a baking sheet and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. The rice should be able to form into a ball once cooled properly.
• Take a handful of cooled rice, flatten while forming an indentation in middle of the ball. Take a teaspoon or so of the cooled meat mixture and a mozzarella cube and place in the indentation of rice. Take another half handful or so of rice and finish forming the rice ball. Repeat with the remaining ingredients until all the rice balls are formed. Combine the flour, 1 1/4 cups of warm water and a pinch of salt and pepper. Dip each of the rice balls in the flour mixture to evenly coat, then coat with plain bread crumbs. In a deep-fryer, fry the rice balls on medium to high heat until golden brown.