Giada says: “In Italy, where risotto is served as both an entrée and a side dish, cooks often have some left over in the fridge and these little fritters are a good way to use it up. I like them so much I make risotto from scratch in the morning, let it cool all day, and then, in the evening, I make these balls of pure heaven: crispy outside, creamy inside. You can fill them with meat and cheese if you’d like, but to elevate them from street food and make them part of my summertime menu, I stuff them with crab (or even lobster if I want to be überfancy). These are rich, so allow two or three per serving.”

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 197g Arborio rice
• 237ml dry white wine
• 473ml seafood broth or bottled clam juice
• 45g freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 2 tbsp mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 456g lump crabmeat, picked through for shells
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
• 1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs at room temperature, lightly beaten
• 85g panko bread crumbs
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 225g prepared marinara sauce, for dipping (optional)

Method

Heat a 3 1⁄2-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and butter, and heat until the butter is melted. To the hot oil, add the shallots and garlic. Cook, stirring often, with a wooden spoon, for about two minutes, or until the vegetables are soft and become fragrant. 

Add 1⁄2 teaspoon of the salt to the pan along with the Arborio rice. Stir the rice to coat it with all the flavours of the pan and cook for one minute. Stir in the wine, scraping the bottom of the pan, and reduce the heat to medium. Simmer until the wine is almost entirely absorbed, about three minutes, stirring frequently. Add all of the broth to the pan and stir to combine. Cook, stirring often, until the rice is tender but not mushy, 15 to 20 minutes. 

Remove from the heat and stir in the cheeses, lemon zest, crabmeat, and chives. Spread the risotto out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet to cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely cold, about two hours. 

Prepare a breading station using three shallow bowls. Place the flour mixed with the remaining 1⁄2 teaspoon salt in one, the eggs in another, and the panko in yet another. Scoop out one tablespoon of risotto and, using your palms, shape it into a ball. Roll the ball in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess, then the egg. Lastly dip the ball in the panko, being careful to coat it completely. Place the ball on a rimmed baking sheet. Continue making and coating balls until all the risotto is used. 

Fill a medium saucepan with two inches of vegetable oil and heat it to 175°C on a deep-fry thermometer over medium-high heat. Using a wire skimmer or a slotted spoon, lower five or six balls into the oil. Fry for three to four minutes, or until they are a deep golden brown and heated through. Remove to a paper towel–lined tray. Continue with the rest of the balls, making sure you don’t overcrowd the pan to ensure they brown evenly. Serve with warm marinara for dipping, if desired.

From Giada’s Italy, copyright © 2018 by Giada De Laurentiis (Clarkson Potter Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, £25), out now

Sophie says: “I know that the idea of frying food can seem like way too much trouble when friends come over. But bear with me, because actually it’s not (assuming we’re talking about a group of around eight people – any more and it gets too time consuming and you’ll miss all the fun). Arancini are a great option because you can cook them before anyone arrives and then reheat them in a really hot oven when needed. Or if it’s just for a handful of friends, have the arancini ready in the fridge and fry them to order.”

Makes about 20

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 brown onion, diced
• 330g Arborio rice
• 125ml white wine
• 1 litre warm chicken or vegetable stock or water
• 45g grated parmesan cheese
• 30g butter
• 220g dry breadcrumbs
• 3 eggs
• Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• Aioli, salsa verde or sea salt flakes, to serve

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Cook the onion for about five minutes or until translucent. Add the rice and stir so every grain is coated with a little oil, then add the wine and cook for a minute or so, stirring as you go.

Stir a cupful of the stock or water into the rice and keep stirring until the liquid is nearly all absorbed. Repeat with the remaining stock or water, adding a cupful at a time and stirring until it is all absorbed into the rice, which should now be al dente. Remove from the heat, stir in the parmesan and butter and pop it into the fridge to chill.

Line a baking tray with baking paper, tip the breadcrumbs into a bowl and whisk the eggs in another bowl. Scoop up a little rice and roll it into a ball about the size of a walnut or golf ball, depending on how big you want your arancini to be. Roll the ball in the egg and then coat it with the breadcrumbs. Place on the tray and repeat with the remaining rice. Place the balls in the fridge for at least half an hour before frying.

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over high heat until it reaches 180°C or until a little piece of bread instantly bubbles and sizzles up to the surface of the oil. Fry the arancini in batches until golden brown all over.

Return the arancini to the lined tray and pop them into the oven for 10 minutes so they are all warm. Serve with aioli, salsa verde or just a good sprinkling of sea salt.

Variations

• Pea: Stir a handful of cooked peas through the chilled rice before rolling into balls.
• Mozzarella: Push a small piece of mozzarella into each ball of rice and squeeze together so the cheese is completely encased in the rice.
• Ragu: If you have left-over ragu or a lovely rich bolognese sauce handy, push a small amount into the rice balls as for the mozzarella.

From In Good Company by Sophie Hansen (Murdoch Books, £20), out now

Sue says: “These delicious little bites, a speciality of Sicily, are traditionally made with risotto rice but I love the nutty flavour and firmer texture of spelt. Here I’ve filled them with melting mozzarella and they go down a treat served as finger food with drinks, or as a main course with a big bowl of salad alongside. It’s no big deal to roll and fry these – assemble them ahead, pop them in the fridge and cook them a few minutes before you’re going to eat.”

Makes about 24

Ingredients

• 50g dried porcini mushrooms
• 200ml boiling water
• 700ml chicken or vegetable stock
• 250g pearled spelt
• 50g grated parmesan cheese
• sea salt flakes
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp chopped thyme leaves
• a pinch of chilli flakes
• finely grated zest of ½ lemon, plus a squeeze of lemon juice
• 1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
• 100g plain flour
• 140g dry breadcrumbs
• 125g mozzarella ball, diced
• vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• lemon wedges, to serve

Method

Soak the porcini in the boiling water for 15 minutes, then drain, keeping the soaking liquid. Squeeze the excess liquid from the porcini, then finely chop and set aside.

Pour the porcini soaking liquid and stock into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the spelt, reduce the heat and simmer, stirring now and then, until the stock is completely absorbed and the grains are tender – this should take around 15–20 minutes. Add a splash of water or stock if the liquid is absorbed before the spelt is cooked.

When the grains are tender, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the parmesan. Taste for seasoning, adding some sea salt and black pepper if needed, then stir in one of the eggs. Transfer to a shallow bowl and chill for an hour or so to firm up.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a small frying pan, add the porcini, thyme, chilli and lemon zest, and season with salt and pepper. Fry for a few minutes until aromatic. Add the garlic and lemon juice. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes until cooked through. Set aside.

Crack the remaining eggs into a shallow bowl and lightly beat. Spread out the flour and breadcrumbs on separate plates. Season the flour with salt and pepper.

Stir the porcini mixture and mozzarella into the chilled spelt mixture until evenly mixed. Using damp hands, roll a heaped tablespoon of the mixture into a 4.5 cm (1¾ inch) ball, squeezing gently so it keeps its shape. Repeat with the rest of the mixture. Dredge each ball in the flour, dunk in the egg and roll in the breadcrumbs.

Heat the vegetable oil to 170–180°C or until a small piece of bread tossed into the oil sizzles and turns golden in 30 seconds. Gently lower the spelt balls into the oil and fry in batches until deep golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately, with lemon wedges.

From Easy Mediterranean by Sue Quinn (Murdoch Books, £14.99), out now

Theo says: “These indulgent little arancini could be the love-child of a deep-fried doughnut and a can of rice pudding. They are light and creamy with the little surprise of sticky jam in the centre. They are very moreish – you have been warned!”

Makes 6

Ingredients

• 400g can good-quality rice pudding
• 100g self-raising flour, plus 130g for dusting
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 100g fresh breadcrumbs (about 2–3 slices of bread, grated)
• 500ml vegetable oil (enough for deep frying)
• 1⁄2 tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra for dusting
• 3 tsp strawberry jam
• 2 tbsp icing sugar

Method

When you open the can of rice pudding, most of the contents will have settled to the bottom. Discard the milky sauce on top, then tip the remaining rice pudding into a sieve.

Place three small bowls in a row: the first containing the flour for dusting, the second containing the whisked eggs and the third containing the breadcrumbs. Pour the oil for deep frying into a large heavy-based saucepan and begin to heat.

Tip the drained rice pudding into a mixing bowl. Gently fold in two-thirds of the remaining flour and all the cinnamon. Continue adding more flour until the mixture starts to hold together; it will be fairly loose – you’re not making a dough.

Dust your hands with flour, take a heaped dessertspoonful of the rice pudding mixture and drop it into the small bowl of flour (to help it stop sticking to your hands); remove the spoonful of pudding mixture and gently form it into a ball by rolling between your palms, then poke your finger into the middle, about halfway in and fill with about 1⁄2 teaspoon jam, then pinch the top together to close the hole. Drop the ball back into the bowl of flour and roll around, then into the egg wash, then finally into the breadcrumbs to coat.

Test the oil temperature by dropping in some breadcrumbs; they should sizzle immediately but take 30 seconds to turn golden. Carefully lower the rice ball in and deep fry for a few minutes until golden. Remove using a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels while you finish the rest. Mix the remaining cinnamon with the icing sugar and dust over the top of the arancini. Serve warm.

From Canned by Theo Michaels (Ryland Peters & Small £18.99), out now