Arancini Aromatics

The other week I donned my dark black trousers, cardboard collar shirt, dress shoes, scarf and smart black jacket. In other words it was the look of the middle-aged rock star,

think Mike Rutherford of Genesis on their recent tour and you get the feel of the outfit. Through the rain I travelled and rendezvoused at the Pedlar Market with two people I first met 27 years ago. We marked time by sampling an exotic range of food as the Autumn rain thudded down onto the roof of our executive table. 

Top of the taste list that I sampled comprised of some Quesdillas, of which more on another post, and some Arancini Balls. The last time I had anything remotely similar to this was when I had Mini Kievs as a young Kidd. The ones I sampled at the Market contained Risotto Rice, a few Chicken pieces and golden butter and herb sauce. They were an inspiration for today's blog post.

After the intensity of the week and some intriguing ways getting presented to forward my career that were chucked at me, there was a kind of stillness on the sunny Saturday. While I was waiting on the rain to clear, and my tag team partner to appear, I decided to experiment with the cooking by making some Arancini Balls of my own.

Keeping in line with the Genesis theme I banged onto the player perhaps their most controversial work, 1974's "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway". It was a record that saw the departure of longtime lead singer Peter Gabriel following the supporting tour. There is a feeling throughout the album of the band simultaneously reaching a creative peak as they're about to fall apart. The story that is meant to be told on the album makes no sense, but the music and lyrics have a power and beauty that make this essential listening. 

The first job was to get the ingredients together to make this dish and they are as follows:

For the filling: 

One White Onion, chopped finely after first being topped, tailed and peeled. 

One finely sliced Garlic Clove. 

Three Hundred Grams of Risotto Rice.

One fresh Cayenne Pepper from my garden that was de-seeded and sliced thinly. 

0.1 litres of Red Wine or Port Wine.

One litre of Chicken Stock.

One hundred and thirty grams of Riocah Flavoured Cheddar which I obtained from the ever growing and ever wonderful Stretton Hall Farm Shop | Facebook

For the coating:

Three Beaten Eggs

100 grams of Gluten Free Self-Raising Flour 

100 grams of Gluten Free Breadcrumbs 

The method goes like this:

1. Fry in Sunflower Oil in a deep frying pan or Le Cresceut dish the White Onion. Fry on a medium heat for around fifteen minutes until they are translucent. 

2. Add the Garlic Clove and Cayenne Pepper and fry for another five minutes while stirring.

3. Add the Risotto Rice and stir in for one minute.

4. Add the Red Wine or Port Wine and simmer until the Rice is absorbed by the Wine. 

5. Add the Chicken Stock and simmer vigorously for around twenty-five minutes until the Risotto Rice has absorbed all the stock and the Rice is soft. 

6. Add the Riocah Cheddar and mix in until it has been absorbed by the rest of the mixture. 

7. Leave the mixture to cool. Once cooled shape the mixture into balls a little larger than golf balls.  Put a piece of cheese, I used Arran Cheddar into the middle of each of the balls. 

8. Put the eggs, self-raising flour and breadcrumbs into three separate bowls. 

9. Put each ball into the eggs, then the self-raising flour and then the breadcrumbs so that they are totally covered by the mixture.

10. Fry in a lot of Olive Oil turning frequently for about five to ten minutes. 

The richness of the Red Wine and Riocah Cheese together with the melted Arran Cheddar gave the Arancini a luxuriant taste and the breadcrumb coating, the author's first attempt at making this type of coating, was of a crunchy golden consistency. Thank you to Pedlar and to my friends in inspiring me to make this dish.