Aranchini Take 2

I made these just the other day but didn’t have enough time to let the risotto cool enough.  The resulting balls were not as crisp as I would like them to be.  I had reserved some risotto so I tried again.  This time I got the sphere I was looking for.

Recipe
Aranchinis – smoked leek risotto:

1. Melt 3 tbsp butter in a skillet and when melted, add 3/4 of a leek (the white part down to the 1/2 of the green part) and cook until softened – 5 minutes
2. Add 2 1/2 cups of arborio rice and cook for 1 minute
3. Add 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp smoked paprika and 1/2 tsp of ancho chili powder, pinch of spanish saffron and mix well
4. Add 1 cup of white wine to the rice mixture and cook until it evaporates
5. Start adding the warm stock to the rice 1 cup at a time – make sure your stove is on medium heat, it needs to be pretty warm to create the creaminess that makes risotto so good
6. Finish with the last cup of stock and add 3/4 cup of shredded parmesan and remove to a tray and allow to cool (I put my in the fridge to speed up the cooling process)
7. Set up a typical dredging station with flour, eggs and breadcrumbs
8. Once the risotto is cool, roll it into balls and stuff with cubed fresh mozzarella and then take through the dredging station – flour, egg wash and then the breadcrumbs
9. Place in a deep fryer and fry for approximately 3 minutes.