This is such a good way to use up leftover rice. I made the risotto myself as I couldnt wait to try this out. I got the idea from a tapas restaurant we went to, one of the dishes we ordered was the cod arancini they were delicious but I thought the cod got lost a bit . Then I had a brainwave and thought smoked haddock would work. I looked online and there are some recipes but I made this one up to our tastes. Using the stock the fish has cooked in to make the risotto adds even more flavour. I eat fried food as a treat when I go out or on the weekend but I prefer baking so I baked these and it worked perfectly. I made a simple tomato sauce to have them with and they were irresistible. It would make such a good starter for a dinner party or Christmas.
Ingredients
For the Arancini
- 1 piece of un dyed smoked haddock
- 1 pint of fish or vegetable stock
- Knob of butter
- 2 leeks finely chopped
- 100g risotto rice, uncooked (you can use leftover cooked rice)
- 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 3 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
- 1 egg, beaten
- 50g Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- Fresh pepper and sea salt (if needed as fish will season the liquid)
For the tomato sauce
- 1 can of chopped tomatoes
- Splash of olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
- 1 tbsp of tomato pure
- Pinch of sugar and salt
- Splash of Worcester sauce
For the capers
- 2 tbsp of capers
- 2 tbsp of frying oil, I used groundnut
Parsley and Parmesan to serve
Directions
- Start by gentle poaching the fish. In a frying pan with a lid, pour in the stock. Bring to the boil turn off the heat, place the haddock in the stock and cover. Leave for 10 minutes the remove the haddock to a plate to cool, reserving the stock.
- In a non stick pan add the butter and leeks and cook until softened, mine took about 6 mins. Add the rice and fry for a further minute. Add the reserved stock a ladle at a time allowing the rice to soak it up. Repeat until the rice is softened I used 2 ladles . Flake in the smoked haddock discarding any bones. Set aside to cool.
- Pre heat oven to 200 degrees fan. On a plat add the plain flour and season.
- Pour the beaten egg into a separate bowl. Finally add the Panko breadcrumbs to anther plate, pour on the olive oil and mix through your fingers so all the breadcrumbs are oily.
- Once the risotto is cool enough to handle. Stir in the parsley and check for seasoning I only needed pepper.
- Take a handful of mixture and roll in your hands to form a ball. Roll in the seasoned flour, then the egg and finally the breadcrumbs. Place on a non stick or lined baking tray. Repeat until you have used all you mixture up. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden.
- While the Arancini are baking, heat a tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan fry off the garlic for a minute. Add all of the other sauce ingredients, bring it up to a gentle boil and then simmer to reduce for 10 minutes.
- In a small pan add 2 tbsp of cooking oil until smoking add a tbsp of capers at a time and fry for 10 secs until they stop sizzling drain on kitchen paper and repeat with the rest. Tip: so I can use less oil I tilt my saucepan on the heat so Im deep frying them.
- To serve, spoon on the tomato sauce, add the Arancini, sprinkle of the capers and fish with a grating of Parmesan and sprinkle of parsley. Enjoy