Coolea & Ale Arancini from Farndon Fields

This recipe comes courtesy of our friends at Farndon Fields, and combines Coolea with our Running Porter from Kernel Brewery to make delicious Italian inspired Arancini. These delicious rice balls are best eaten hot, washed down with some Running Porter

Ingredients

300g risotto rice
1 white onion (finely chopped)
Olive oil
150ml ale
150ml hot beef stock
150g Coolea (grated)
1 ball mozzarella (cubed)
3 eggs
100g plain flour
200g fine breadcrumbs
Sunflower oil for deep frying

Fry the onion in olive oil and butter until soft. Add the risotto rice and toast for a couple of minutes until it’s translucent.
 
Add the ale and stir until absorbed followed by the hot stock a little bit at a time, stirring often.  Take off the heat when the rice is al-dente.
 
Add the grated Coolea and season with salt & pepper.
 
Spread out the risotto evenly on a baking tray and refrigerate to cool completely, preferably overnight.
 
Once completely cool, evenly separate into approximately 100g pieces. Shape each piece into a circle in your palm, add a small piece of mozzarella to the middle, and close the rice around it until it forms a sealed ball.
 
Once all of the arancini are made dip each one in the flour, followed by the beaten egg, followed by the breadcrumbs.  Make sure they are evenly coated.
 
Heat the oil in a heavy based pan to 180C.  Fry the arancini in small batches until golden brown, this should take around 3-4 minutes.
 
Immediately set aside on kitchen paper to drain any excess oil and serve while hot!