Arancini

I originally posted this back in 2011 ... but I made it again today and thought it was worth revisiting!

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Last year at Rory's company Christmas party, I chose arancini for my meal. I chose it because it was a food I had never heard of and I love trying new stuff that sounds yum. I am so glad I did! I loved it, but I haven't had it since. Well, the other night we made risotto. A delicious mushroom risotto that I will totally make again. It is on page 66 of Jamie's 30 Minute Meals cookbook. I highly recommend trying it. Make the whole meal! The salad was so yum (you can see the few leftovers in the photo below) and the dessert .... well, there weren't any leftovers of that!!

We had some leftovers of the risotto so I decided to try my hand at arancini. It was so stinkin' easy ! Here's how you can do it too ...

leftover risotto, I had enough to make 10 golf ball size arancini
flour
egg, beaten
panko breadcrumbs

Roll the risotto into a little bit bigger than golf ball size balls. Then coat with flour, egg and panko. (here's a little video if you want to see it done ... I watched this and decided to use the spoon like she did in the egg ... it was a good tip !)

Heat some olive oil in a frying pan to medium-ish heat (adjust heat as needed) and fry arancini until golden. I turned them onto every side ... they were actually a little more square than round by the time I finished ! haha

I served with leftover salad (it was a spinach/pine nut/sun dried tomato/cucumber with a lemon balsamic dressing salad) and I sprinkled grated romano cheese over the salad and the arancini.

Sooooooo goooooood !!

PS ... you can use ANY risotto you like.

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Below: Original photo as posted in 2011.

Creamy Butternut Squash Risotto

Hi! I'm Marissa. I'm new here. Well, actually, I've been making Beans Blog recipes for years now, but I have one of my own to contribute for the first time! I am married and have an almost year-old baby.
Here's a picture of the three of us (picking apples this fall):

My husband is picky (nothing green and leafy, white and creamy, or too chunky), and my baby is slowly adding to his repertoire of solid foods. Hopefully, I'll be able to contribute some recipes that work well for picky eaters but are also healthy enough for a little one.

Mostly the baby eats healthier food than we do (vegetable, protein, grain, dairy, and fruit for most meals), so I figure that rather than changing his diet to accommodate ours, maybe I should change our diet (more processed food than is good) to accommodate his. This creamy risotto was a favorite for all three of us. The creaminess comes from the rice and a tiny bit of butter rather than fatty cream, so 100 grams is only about 75-80 calories. 200 grams is a nice size helping of rice and only 150 calories. It made a flavorful, simple side dish without adding too many calories.

Here is a picture of the baby enjoying it (the rice is sticky enough for him to eat with his fingers):

And here is a picture of the grown-up food (rice, green beans, and marinaded chicken thighs):

The recipe from The Baby & Toddler Cookbook is below.

Creamy Butternut Squash Risotto
1 cup Arborio or short grain rice
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tsp unsalted butter
1 cup pureed butternut squash
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the rice and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is soft and creamy, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.

Stir the butter, squash puree, and nutmeg into the rice.

Serve warm.

NOTE: I started with a whole butternut squash. To cook it, cut in half longways. Scrape the seeds out. Lay flesh side down in pan. Pour water 1/4 inch up the sides of the squash and cook in oven at 375 degrees for 45-60 min. Remove the skin and puree. (I used my immersion blender, which worked perfectly.)