Pumpkin Arancini
150g leek (roughly half a small leek)
220-250g pumpkin
1 shallot
1 large garlic clove
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 bay leaves
1 tbsp fresh chopped herbs (I used rosemary and thyme)
130g risotto rice
50ml white wine (optional)
350-400ml water
20g butter
20g parmesan
1 x ball mozzarella
2 eggs
handful of flour
panko breadcrumbs and/or corn meal
rapeseed oil for frying arancini (vegetable oil will also work, but avoid olive oil)
ghee (optional)
salt and pepper
Tahini dip:
1 tbsp tahini
3 tbsp boiling water
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 lemon
salt and pepper
Serves 8 (2 balls each)
Method:
Heat the oven to 180 degrees.
Split the leek down the middle and finely slice. Peel and finely dice the pumpkin. Dice the shallot, and crush and finely chop the garlic. Put all these ingredients in a flat saucepan with olive oil. Add the bay leaves and chopped herbs. Cook for around 10 mins over a low heat, stirring occasionally.
Turn up the heat and add in the rice and white wine. Combine all the ingredients, turn down the heat and add in the water. Stir occasionally for around 25 minutes. Add in the butter and parmesan to finish. The rice should be more cooked than a risotto because you want to be able to mould it into balls.
Spread the mixture onto a flat tray and place in the fridge to cool for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Cut up the mozzarella into small chunks. You will need slightly less than 1 ball. Mould the risotto into 50g balls. This makes around 16. Put a thumb hole in the balls and push in a chunk of mozzarella. Make sure the risotto fully covers the cheese. You might want to get a bowl of water to keep your hands clean of ingredients.
Now for the coating – place the whisked egg, flour and breadcrumbs or cornmeal (or a mix of both) into three separate dishes. Place the arancini balls into the flour and then into the egg and finally coat in the breadcrumbs. Repeat.
Shallow fry the arancini in rapeseed and a teaspoon of ghee. Fry around 5 at a time – you need space to move them around the pan so they colour as evenly golden as possible.
For the dip, put the tahini in a bowl and add the boiling water. Give it a good whisk, add in the vinegar, a squeeze of lemon and salt and pepper.
Put the arancini into the oven for 10-12 minutes to heat through and then serve with the dip and a salad.
Tip:
The arancini is a good one to make a day or two in advance. Coat them on the day you cook them. These are great served with drinks!