Rice and green pea arancini with yogurt sauce

Votes: 1

Time: 5 hours 30 minutes
Complexity: easily
Quantity: for a large company

Sicilian arancini are literally risotto fried into crispy, finger-friendly balls. So, the first part of the recipe boils down to making the risotto with green peas. Once it's ready, the rice mixture is thoroughly cooled and formed into small balls. The arancini are then coated in breadcrumbs and fried in plenty of vegetable oil until evenly browned on all sides. To serve, prepare a refreshing dipping sauce made with mayonnaise and Greek yogurt, flavored with aromatic herbs and caramelized lemon juice.

The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Ingredients for the recipe:

Arancini

1.5 tbsp. Arborio rice
450 g frozen green peas
4 tbsp. lightly salted vegetable broth
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup minced shallots (1 large onion)
1 tbsp. crushed garlic (2-3 cloves)
0.5 cups white wine
0.5 cup finely grated Parmesan
Zest of 1 lemon
Canola oil to grease the pan and for frying
110 gr. grated dry mozzarella (about 1 and 1/4 cups)
3 large eggs
2 tbsp. panko breadcrumbs

Dip sauce

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup fresh dill sprigs
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
2 tbsp. l. coarsely chopped chives
2 tablespoons fried lemon juice, see recipe below
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup Greek yogurt

Fried lemon

1 teaspoon of honey
1/4 teaspoon olive oil
1 Meyer lemon, halved crosswise

Ingredient Substitution Suggestions

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Recipes with similar ingredients: Arborio rice, peas, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, white wine, lemon, chives, basil, dill, mint, yogurt

Cooking the dish according to the recipe:

Dip sauce:
Place the basil, dill, mint, green onions, baked lemon juice, mayonnaise, and Greek yogurt in a food processor and blend until smooth. Season with salt to taste. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Arancini:
Set aside 1 cup of frozen peas. Place the remaining peas in a blender with 1 cup of vegetable broth and blend until smooth. Pour the pea mixture into a medium saucepan and add the remaining 3 cups of broth and 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat.

In a medium Dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. Add the rice and cook until opaque and lightly toasted. Add the shallots and garlic; cook for another 2-3 minutes to toast the garlic and soften the onions. Deglaze the pan with white wine, then bring to a simmer and cook until almost completely evaporated. Pour in one-third of the hot stock, reduce the heat to medium, and bring the stock to a boil, stirring frequently.
Continue stirring the rice for 8 minutes, until the broth is almost completely absorbed. When there is more rice than liquid in the pan, add another third of the broth and repeat for another 8 minutes. Add the remaining broth and this time stir until the rice is thick enough (it should leave a trail when you run a spoon through the rice). Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, Parmesan, lemon zest, green peas, and salt and black pepper to taste.
Lightly grease a baking sheet with canola oil and spread the risotto in an even layer; let cool. Once the risotto has reached room temperature, cover it with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the rice, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
Form the cooled risotto into 20 arancini balls, about 1/4 cup per ball. Flatten each ball with the palm of your hand, place a heaping teaspoon of mozzarella in the center, and fold the sides around the cheese. Form the balls again. At this point, you can let the arancini rest overnight on a baking sheet covered with plastic wrap.
Deep fry:
When ready to fry, heat 2-3 inches of canola oil in a large cast-iron skillet to 350°F (175°C). Line the pan with paper towels.
Beat the eggs in a shallow dish, season with salt and pepper. In a second shallow dish, add the panko breadcrumbs, season with salt and pepper. Dip the arancini in the egg, then roll in the breadcrumbs.
Fry the arancini, a few at a time, turning occasionally, until richly golden brown and crispy on all sides, about 4 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain any excess oil; season immediately with salt.

Serve arancini hot with dipping sauce.

Fried lemon:
Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add honey and olive oil. Once the honey has melted, stir, then place the lemon halves cut-side down into the mixture. Cook until the lemons are toasted and the honey caramelizes on the cut sides, about 4 minutes. Transfer the lemons to a baking sheet and let cool.

Note

If you don't fry the lemon, you can replace it with 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of honey.