Marrying a love for Chinese fried rice with the Italian passion for turning left over risotto into yummylicious arancini minus the worry of deep-frying induced heart burn yields a refreshingly different finger food that hits all the right aromatic and taste bud tingling notes…
…Perfect for summer partying in Stockholm!
Ingredients:
½ cup arborio rice
280 ml seasoned chicken stock, heated and kept warm
½ cup white wine
2½ tbsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/6 leek, vertically thinly sliced
1/3 fennel bulb’s fronds, roughly chopped
1/3 cup frozen peas
1/6 roast chicken breast, diced
70 g asparagus, diced
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice
Crack black pepper
¼ cup pine nuts
¼ cup roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1 egg, beaten
Plain flour
Extra virgin olive oil
Fine bread crumbs
Instructions:
- Over a medium flame, stir fry garlic and leek in sesame oil till tender and fragrant.
- Add rice; stirring till well coated in sesame oil.
- Stir in wine until absorbed by rice.
- 1 ladle at a time, stir in warm stock till absorbed by rice and risotto is al dente.
- While stirring in the last ladle of stock, also stir in first asparagus and Chinese 5 spice, then chicken, followed by peas and finally fennel fronds and nuts; making sure all are warmed through.
- Season the risotto with salt and pepper before setting aside to cool covered.
- Stir egg into risotto to firm up covered overnight in fridge.
- Preheat the oven to a fan forced 180C.
- Roll firmed up risotto mixture into 20 balls; coating each first with flour, then with olive oil and lastly with bread crumbs.
- Bake crumbed risotto balls on greaseproof paper lined tray in oven for 30 to 40 minutes till golden brown and heated all the way through.
- Serve arancini hot and washed down with dry ciders and white wines.
