Arancini sounds like a very technical dish, but in reality it is just risotto rolled into balls and if you managed to make the risotto, you're almost there! Be clever and make a generous potion of risotto for dinner and then use any leftovers the next day to make these delicious little treats. Serve them with the delightful 2016 Culinaria Pinot Noir - it will be a perfect snack or light meal.

Recipe for Mushroom and Truffle Arancini

Makes 50 x 20-g balls - it sounds like a lot... but they have the ability to disappear...

If you've made risotto the night before and are using leftovers, you only need the flour, egg and breadcrumbs and you can adjust quantities for the amount of risotto you have. You can start the method at the *. 

Ingredients

Butter and oil for frying

2 cups chopped assorted mushrooms – shimiji, porcini, shitake

2 tbsps. unsalted butter

½ medium onion, finely chopped  

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 

500 g Arborio risotto rice

1 cup Leopard’s Leap Culinaria Pinot Noir

2 sprigs of thyme

2,5 litres mushroom stock/vegetable stock, hot  

50 g butter

½ cup Grana Padano Parmesan, grated

Drizzle of truffle oil

2 tbsp. chopped parsley

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups flour

2 – 6 eggs, beaten

2 cups bread crumbs

Method

Heat a pan suitable for cooking risotto over high heat. Add enough olive oil and butter to sauté the mushrooms. Once cooked, remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside, discarding any excess oil from the pan.

Add the 2 Tablespoons of butter to the pan and cook the onions until translucent, add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add the rice to the pan and mix to coat the rice with the buttery onions and garlic.

Add the wine and thyme and allow to cook and evaporate. Turn the heat down to low, then add two large ladles of stock at a time, stirring continually.  This allows the rice to absorb and cook evenly in the stock.

Once the liquid has been absorbed, add another two ladles of stock and continue the process until the rice is cooked.  Return the mushrooms to the pan with rice after about 10 minutes of cooking the rice.

Once the rice is cooked through and the risotto is more dry than runny, add the butter, cream, Parmesan, lemon juice/zest, salt and pepper. Leave to stand covered with foil for 5 minutes, to rest.

Stir the pan and incorporate the ingredients until the butter and cheese have melted and the risotto comes together. Add a drizzle of truffle oil and the chopped parsley.

Pour the rice into a large, flat baking tray and place in the fridge to cool down for 2 – 3 hours.

* Once the rice is cold, use a scale and tablespoon to spoon the rice into 20-g portions. Then, using your hands, roll them into round balls.

Place them back into the fridge to firm up for 15 minutes – if they are very soft, place them in the freezer to firm up more.

Place each risotto ball into flour, then into the egg, followed by the breadcrumbs.

 Once crumbed, place into the deep-fryer or a pot with hot oil (approximately 190 °C).

Fry until golden brown, remove from the oil and drain on kitchen towel.

Serve warm.