Arancini

4 oz Arborio rice

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 oz white wine

1 oz olive oil

1 oz soft butter

a very small amount of clarified butter

1 oz provolone cheese (grated)

2 oz fresh mozzarella cheese (grated)

1.5 oz parmesan cheese (grated)

1 oz mascarpone cheese

1 oz ricotta salata cheese

2 oz whole milk mozzarella, chopped

1 cup panko bread crumbs

salt, to taste

chicken stock as required

5 oz pomodorini (that’s cherry tomato sauce)

1 oz olive oil

2 cloves garlic

chili flakes, to taste

In a saucepan with clarified butter, sauté the garlic, onions and bay leaf for 5 minutes. De-glaze the pan with white wine.

Now add the rice and salt, stir for 1 minute and add the chicken stock, stirring continuously.

Cook until rice is almost done (as with pasta, it should be al dente). The entire contents of the pan should sort of have a runny consistency. It sounds weird, but trust us on this.

Finish off with soft butter, mascarpone, parmesan and 1 oz of fresh mozzarella cheese, stirring all this goodness together.

Set the mixture aside to let it cool to room temperature. We know, it’s hard to not just grab a spoon and eat it.

Mix in the remaining chopped mozzarella and adjust the seasoning to your liking. (Yeah, you probably should have a little taste now.)

Form the mixture, 1 oz at a time, into ball-shaped balls.

Dust each ball in flour, dip in egg white and coat with panko crumbs.

Since they may have lost their shape, hand-roll the balls back into a nice round shape.

Deep-fry them to a golden brown.

In a saucepan with olive oil, sauté the garlic, chili flakes, and pomodorini. Reduce to make a thick sauce.

Say “pomodorini” a few times out loud, just because it’s fun to say.

Pass through a chinois or strainer.

Add chili flakes, to taste.

Ladle some sauce in the center of a serving dish.

Place the arancini balls into the sauce. (Bonus: they won’t roll around while serving.)

Garnish with grated and sliced ricotta salata. Mmm, cheese.