Mushroom Risotto Balls

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

3 people added this to their Recipe Box

This recipe makes 48 pieces servings

Nutritional Info
Per piece: about	-
cal	7979 cal
pro	2 g2g pro
total fat	3 g3g total fat
sat. fat	1 g1g sat. fat
carb	11 g11g carb
fibre	00 fibre
chol	11 mg11mg chol
sodium	95 mg95mg sodium
potassium	24 mg24mg potassium
% RDI:	-
calcium	22 calcium
iron	22 iron
vit A	11 vit A
folate	55 folate

Arancini are elegant, crispy bites of warm risotto with melting cheese centres. If desired, they can be further elevated by the addition of a drizzle of white truffle oil when stirring in the Parmesan. For convenience, make the risotto a day ahead.

Ingredients

2 2pkg pkg(14 g each) dried porcini mushroomdried porcini mushrooms
2-1/2 2-1/2cups cupssodium-reduced chicken broth or sodium-reduced vegetable broth
3 tbsp salted butter 3 3tbsp tbspsalted butter
1 onion , finely diced1 1oniononions, finely diced
1/2 tsp salt 1/2 1/2tsp tspsalt
1/4 tsp dried thyme 1/4 1/4tsp tspdried thyme
1/4 tsp pepper 1/4 1/4tsp tsppepper
2 cups arborio rice 2 2cups cupsarborio rice
1/3 cup dry white wine 1/3 1/3cup cupdry white wine or sodium-reduced chicken broth
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese 1/3 1/3cup cupgrated parmesan cheese
24 24cubes cubes(1/4 inch/5 mm) fontina cheese
Coating:
1 cup all-purpose flour 1 1cup cupall-purpose flour
2 eggs 2 2eggeggs
1-1/4 cups dry bread crumbs 1-1/4 1-1/4cups cupsdry bread crumbs
4 4cups cupsvegetabIe oil, for frying, enough to submerge food

Preparation

In heatproof bowl, soak mushrooms in 1-1/4 cups (300 mL) boiling water for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving soaking liquid. Finely chop mushrooms and set aside.

In saucepan, bring chicken broth, 2-1/2 cups (625 mL) water and reserved mushroom liquid to simmer; keep warm.

In large skillet, melt 2 tbsp (25 mL) of the butter over medium heat; cook mushrooms, onion, salt, thyme and pepper until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in rice to coat.

Stir in wine; cook, stirring, until no liquid remains. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in warm broth, 1/2 cup (125 mL) at a time and adding more when completely absorbed, until rice is creamy and tender, 20 to 22 minutes.

Stir in Parmesan cheese and remaining butter. Transfer to shallow dish; let cool. Cover and refrigerate until cold, 2 to 3 hours.

Using damp hands, roll rice mixture by rounded 1 tbsp (15 mL) into balls. Insert Fontina cheese cube into centre of each and roll to enclose cheese.

Coating: Place flour in shallow dish. In second dish, beat egg with 2 tbsp (25 mL) water; place crumbs in third dish. One at a time, roll balls in flour. Dip into egg then roll in crumbs to coat. Place on waxed paper–lined baking sheet. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.)

In deep-fryer or large saucepan, heat 3 cups (750 mL) oil until deep-fryer thermometer registers 340 to 350°F (170 to 180°C) or 1-inch (2.5 cm) cube of white bread turns golden in 1 minute.

Deep-fry risotto balls, in batches, until golden brown and heated through, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towel–lined tray. (Make-ahead: Let cool; cover and refrigerate in airtight container for up to 24 hours. Reheat on baking sheet in 425°F/220°C oven until heated through, about 10 minutes.)

Source : Canadian Living Holiday Cookbook: Fall 2009