Butternut Squash and Sage Arancini
Makes 20 Arancini
Time: 3 hrs
If this recipe doesn’t SCREAM fall, then I don’t even know what does. Versatility is one of my favourite characteristics of most things, and an item like Arancini really delivers on that front. Traditionally, Arancini are risotto balls that can be made with last night’s risotto. You scoop it up into balls, shove a piece of mozzarella in the middle, bread it, fry it, and voila: you’ve got a brand new meal. With these guys, I’ve roasted a squash, blitzed it into chicken stock, and then used that to make the risotto, along with some nice big sage leaves that are taking over the garden where they certainly were not planted
Ingredients
1 small butternut
cut in half, face side down, 400F 40 minutes
Scoop out all of the squash (1000g) into 1L + 1c chicken stock
2T Olive Oil
1 Yellow Onion, diced
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
2c Arborio Rice
6 Large Sage Leaves, roughly chopped
1L + 1c Chicken Stock
3/4c Parmesan Cheese, finely grated
2T Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
20 1" cubes of Mozzarella, approx. 140g
2.25c Panko
3/4c Flour
2 Eggs
Method
Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Put face down on a parchment lined baking tray and bake for 45 minutes, until very tender when poked with a knife or fork. Once the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out about 1000g of the flesh. Pour it into a pot with the stock. Bring to a simmer before putting an immersion blender in the pot and blitzing everything completely smooth.
Heat a large pot over medium heat and drizzle in olive oil. Add in diced onion and cook, stirring constantly, until translucent. Add in garlic and rice. Continue to stir rice and garlic for 1 minute, until garlic is beginning to brown and rice is slightly toasted.
Working with one ladle at a time, gradually add squash chicken stock to the rice, stirring with each addition. Continue adding the stock, ladle by ladle, until the rice has absorbed most of it and is slightly al dente. It will turn into a nice, thick, glossy consistency, with the rice still having some bite to it. Add in the sage leaves, parmesan and butter. Stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper. Pour rice out onto a baking tray and place in the fridge until chilled -- an hour, or until the next day.
Prepare your breading station: whisk up the eggs in one bowl, 3/4c flour in another bowl, and the panko in another.
Form balls of rice, about 2oz/pc. Cut a little cube of mozzarella and hide it in the centre of the ball of rice. Carefully coat each rice ball in flour, then in egg, then in panko. Place on a baking tray. Repeat the process until all balls of rice are fully coated.
Bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes, until beginning to turn golden brown. Serve on their own, or with a roasted garlic squash puree, a crispy sage leaf, and freshly shaved parmesan on top.
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