Wild Mushroom Mini Arancini

Wild Mushroom Mini Arancini or mini deep fried mushroom rice balls for the uninitiated are such a great food to have on hand in the freezer.

Not only are they a great ‘fast food’ to pad out a salad but they are also fantastic to have for emergency nibbles when friends or family pop around.

This volume makes about 30 arancini but this will depend on how big or small you make each ball. To freeze the remaining arancini you simply take the recipe up to the breadcrumb coating stage and then place them on a lined baking tray so they aren’t touching each other and freeze overnight. You then place them into a ziplock bag till required. Cook them from frozen, do not defrost.

Serve them with a garlic aioli and a harissa paste or a similar spicy, hot sauce.

Ingredients

2 litres chicken or vegetable stock

2 cups Arborio rice

2 medium brown onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

100ml white wine

2 leaves of silverbeet or spinach, spine removed and finely chopped

1 cup parmesan cheese

200g pine mushrooms, roughly chopped (use any other readily available mushroom if out of season)

1tbs Wild Mushroom Powder – store bought or make your own with dried foraged mushrooms

Panko breadcrumbs

1 cup plain flour

3 eggs

Oil for cooking

Oil for deep frying

Method

Have your vegetables prepared by roughly cutting the mushrooms and washing and finely chopping the spinach, set aside for later.

Heat about 1 tbsp of oil in a fry pan and cook the finely chopped onion on low heat till transparent and soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Place the stock into a saucepan and heat up. It doesn’t need to be simmering it just needs to be quite warm. Leave on the stove top on low heat till ready to use.

To the onion mixture add the rice and cook for about 4 minutes, you are just ever so lightly toasting the rice on a medium heat.

Add the wine to the rice and stir to combine.

Now start ladling in, one spoon at a time, the warm stock. Stir continuously till the liquid from each spoonful has been absorbed.

Continue this step – ladle, stir, absorb for 25-30 minutes.

Around the 25 minute mark add the mushrooms, mushroom powder, silverbeet and the parmesan cheese and stir to combine.

Test some rice to keep an eye on the texture, you don’t want it soggy and you don’t want it sticking in your teeth. Keep cooking till the rice is done.

Season with salt and pepper then set aside to cool then place in the fridge – the rice mixture needs to be cold so you can easily form balls.

Once your mixture is nice and cold, scoop out spoonfuls (a spring action ice cream scoop is perfect for this. I use a 3.5cm scoop) and place on a plate. Once you have your amounts you can start rolling them into tight balls and setting them aside.

Frying the arancini

Heat your deep fryer or oil in a deep sided pot to 190°C

Place the flour in a plastic bag

Whisk together your eggs

Pour the breadcrumbs onto a large bowl or plate.

Paper towel to place finished arancini balls on to.

Once the oil is at temperature it’s a 4 step process so keep everything neat and close together.

1 – Place about 10 arancini into the bag of flour and gently bounce the bag around till all the balls are coated.

2 – Pop the arancini in the whisked egg and swirl to coat each arancino

3 – Place the egg coated balls into the breadcrumbs and gently press the crumbs onto the surface.

4 – Carefully place the arancini into the hot oil in batches appropriate for the size pot/pan or fryer you are using.

Cook for about 4-5 minutes or till golden brown.*

* If you are freezing a large batch then you can place the uncooked, fully coated arancini on a lined baking tray and freeze. Leave for a day and then place them in a ziplock bag, ready for you to cook as you need.

… would love to be serving these out of a food truck. You know what they say, put the wish out there, the dream may come true – Blondie 🙂

Wild Mushroom Mini Arancini

Prep time

4 hours

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

4 hours 30 mins

Wild Mushroom Mini Arancini or deep fried mushroom balls are perfect to have sitting in your freezer for scrumptious nibbles at a moments notice.

Author: Finding Feasts

Recipe type: Finger Food

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 30

Ingredients

2 litres chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups Arborio rice
2 medium brown onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
100ml white wine
2 leaves of silverbeet or spinach, spine removed and finely chopped
1 cup parmesan cheese
200g pine mushrooms, roughly chopped (use any other readily available mushroom if out of season)
1tbs Wild Mushroom Powder
Panko breadcrumbs
1 cup plain flour
3 eggs
Oil for cooking
Oil for deep frying

Method

Have your vegetables prepared by roughly cutting the mushrooms and washing and finely chopping the spinach, set aside for later.
Heat about 1 tbsp of oil in a fry pan and cook the finely chopped onion on low heat till transparent and soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Place the stock into a saucepan and heat up. It doesn’t need to be simmering it just needs to be quite warm. Leave on the stove top on low heat till ready to use.
To the onion mixture add the rice and cook for about 4 minutes, you are just ever so lightly toasting the rice on a medium heat.
Add the wine to the rice and stir to combine.
Now start ladling in, one spoon at a time, the warm stock. Stir continuously till the liquid from each spoonful has been absorbed.
Continue this step – ladle, stir, absorb for 25-30 minutes.
Around the 25 minute mark add the mushrooms, mushroom powder, silverbeet and the parmesan cheese and stir to combine.
Test some rice to keep an eye on the texture, you don’t want it soggy and you don’t want it sticking in your teeth. Keep cooking till the rice is done.
Season with salt and pepper then set aside to cool then place in the fridge – the rice mixture needs to be cold so you can easily form balls.
Once your mixture is nice and cold, scoop out spoonfuls (a spring action ice cream scoop is perfect for this. I use a 3.5cm scoop) and place on a plate. Once you have your amounts you can start rolling them into tight balls and setting them aside.

Frying the arancini

Heat your deep fryer or oil in a deep sided pot to 190°C
Place the flour in a plastic bag
Whisk together your eggs
Pour the breadcrumbs onto a large bowl or plate.
Paper towel to place finished arancini balls on to.
Once the oil is at temperature it’s a 4 step process so keep everything neat and close together.
– Place about 10 arancini into the bag of flour and gently bounce the bag around till all the balls are coated.
– Pop the arancini in the whisked egg and swirl to coat each arancino
– Place the egg coated balls into the breadcrumbs and gently press the crumbs onto the surface.
– Carefully place the arancini into the hot oil in batches appropriate for the size pot/pan or fryer you are using.
Cook for about 4-5 minutes or till golden brown.*
* If you are freezing a large batch then you can place the uncooked, fully coated arancini on a lined baking tray and freeze. Leave for a day and then place them in a ziplock bag, ready for you to cook as you need.