A minimalist take on a classic italian staple, paired with succulent shrimp; flavoured with a refreshing mint sauce; spicy strawberry syrup and creme fraiche.
Arancini
Despite how brilliantly simple an arancini is, it's regarded in classic Italian cuisine as 'qualcosa dal nulla'; something out of nothing. It's mostly made with the leftover risotto or rice, with the addition of textural elements such as nuts, cheese, egg yolks etc, covered with a thin crispy crust, mostly made out of stale/leftover Italian bread. I tried to replicate this as much as possible, with a few obvious additions to elevate the dish. The breadcrumbs I used were dried by blending with corn flour. The risotto was made a day in advance, so the starch started to recede back into the riso (arborio rice).
THE RECIPE:
ingredients
8-9 pieces of shrimp
1/2 tbsp honey
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tbsp paprika
2 cups of leftover risotto (refer to my prawn risotto recipe)
1/4 cups of cashewnuts
1/4 cup milk
4 pieces of stale bread
1/2 cup dried cheese
2 eggs
1/4 cup corn flour
1 cup mint leaves
1 and 1/2 cup hung curd/yogurt
1 cup of chopped strawberries
2 tbsp grind of 4 cloves, 5 peppercorns, 3 star anise, 2 cinnamon sticks, a few sprigs of thyme and rosemary.
2 basil leaves
METHOD
For the mint chutney, grind up half a cup of curd and all of the mint in a blender. combine with the rest of the yogurt, season and set aside. For the strawberry syrup, in a pan, simmer the strawberries, ground up spices, salt, and basil leaves. Strain out when thickened completely. Top with honey and lemon if needed.
For the arancini, make sure the riso is extremely dry. If not, add in a few of the breadcrumbs. Crack in two eggs in a bowl. In a food processor, grind up breadcrumbs, corn flour, dried cheese, 1 tbsp paprika, seasoning and Italian herbs (optional). Into the riso, add in a bit of dried cheese. Boil the cashews in the milk for 15 minutes, chop them up and add. Make round golf ball sized balls, dip in the egg and coat with breadcrumb mixture. Fry till golden.
For the Shrimp, saute the cloves of garlic in some olive oil, paprika and salt. Add in the shrimp and cook for 3-4 minutes per side. When just done, add in honey and juice of 1 lemon. Top with some salt to taste.
Plate as shown and serve!
Comments