Arancini, for hosting
We’ve been really into hosting cocktail hours at our apartment this year. Whether we have people staying with us or just want to meet here before heading out for the evening, it’s been fun to entertain. And with cocktail hours comes a need to also make some apps.
I made a big batch of risotto for dinner this week and used the leftovers for arancini. Because as this recipe says, “there’s no way around it — to make arancini means you have to make risotto.” The risotto not only needs to be made, it needs to be really cold so it doesn’t fall apart in the oil.
That said, I used my go-to risotto recipe instead of the one because it’s what I love and enjoy.
Pro tips:
I find making risotto cathartic, but it is a bit of a process and involves a lot of active cooking time. In a perfect world, you’d make this for dinner one night, assemble the arancini balls another and actually fry them live for ease.
I’m still really passionate about using salted water to make risotto and not broth/stock. The flavor is absolutely still there and this dish is more about the texture.
If you don’t need all 24 arancini balls because this is a heavy appetizer, freeze half! You’ve already done most of the hard work and now you can pull them out in the future without planning.
Pay attention to the temperature of your oil and don’t overcrowd the pot. We’re going for even browning here.
Save yourself the trouble and serve with your fave store bought sauce.
