I am not very good at using up all the ingredients in my fridge.  As a result there are always bits and pieces of all sorts of things just lying around.  Occasionally I get motivated enough to find a recipe to finish off the scraps.  Other times I leave things in there until they mutate into something that represents a monster from Loch Ness.

I had a few cobs of corn left over in my crisper so I decided to invent something.  After reading a recipe for sweet corn velouté I saw they made a stock out of corn.  This seemed like a cool concept so I decided to make some risotto that I eventually transformed into arancini balls.  I coated half the corn risotto in bread crumbs and the other crumbed with polenta (corn rice balls covered in corn felt like a good idea).  The polenta ones were much more crispy and golden.

Call me a girl but deep frying freaks me out a bit.  So much so that I have never attempted it at home.  Today I would overcome this kitchen fear.  It was way easier than I expected and best of all no burns.

Overall I was very pleased with my ricey treats.  I think they could be improved by having a small piece of prawn or bocconcini in the middle.  These could be prepared and reheated as party finger food.

Mini Sweet Corn Arancini Balls
Makes 30

Ingredients
2 cobs Sweet Corn
2 sprigs Thyme
2 tbsp Butter
½ Onion, finely diced
1 cup Alborio rice
½ cup White wine
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup Plain flour
2 eggs
1 cup Polenta
Oil for frying

Method
  1. Cut the kernels off cobs of corn and reserve.  Place naked cobs into a sauce pan and cover with 1.5L of water.  Add thyme and simmer over a medium heat for 30 minutes. Remove cobs from stock and discard.  Add the corn kernels and simmer for 3 minutes.  Strain the corn from the stock and reserve.  Keep stock warm over a low temperature.
  2. In a fry pan gently sauté the onion in 1 tbsp of butter until translucent.  Add the rice and cook over a low heat for 1 minute.  Add the white wine and continue to stir rice until most of the wine as evaporated.  Add a ladle full of corn stock at a time to the rice continually stirring until completely evaporated.  Continue this process until all the stock is consumed and the rice is cooked al dente (add water if more moisture is required).  Stir through parmesan and remaining butter and remove risotto from the heat.  Refrigerate until cool.
  3. Shape tablespoonfuls of risotto into balls (inserting goodies into the centre if desired). Dip in flour, then egg, then polenta. Place on a tray. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  4. In a medium saucepan heat oil to 165°C.  Fry off a few balls at a time for 5 to 6 minutes until golden brown.  Place fried balls into a pan lined with absorbent paper and keep warm in the oven whilst frying the rest of the balls in batches.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Be Sociable, Share!