italian – ¡Comemos!

Arancini are one of Italy’s most delicious deep-fried snacks. Varying in size, they’re basically deep fried risotto, often with a particularly cheesy centre, which can ooze apart as you break into them. They’re the perfect starter, or an indulgent on-the-go snack, whether cheese-, meat- or tomato-based.

Having tried them both in the UK and Italy, I thought I’d attempt my own at home, bearing in mind I’d never made them before. A few months ago I made some prawn croquettes following a Rick Stein recipe, and this gave me a decent understanding of how a deep-fried treat with a creamy centre should be made.

My favourite arancino (singular), I actually had in Manchester of all places, at a street food pop-up called Tarricrii. The arancini were huuuuge, and it was the melted cheesiness that had me sold.

The two that I had in Bologna, Italy, were from an indoor market type place, and although I don’t remember the exact flavours, I know that at least one was tomato-based, there was beef mince involved, and peas featured somewhere. These ones highlight how arancini certainly don’t have to be cheese-filled, and this may be a bastardisation, but to be honest, given the choice, who wouldn’t want a sinking washing line of mozzarella to emerge as you break it apart?

The recipe below is for a ham and mushroom filling, however, it’s incredibly easy to customise the risotto filling, creating a vegetarian version for example, or even adding pesto, tomato sauce, or other meats.

Makes 9

For the Arancini

arborio rice (so sorry I can’t remember the quantity lol – enough risotto rice for 4 people would be a decent bet)

3 slices of thick ham (torn into small chunks)

8 chestnut mushrooms (sliced)

1 large onion

600ml chicken stock

Salt/pepper

Parmesan

1 ball of mozzarella

4tbsp cornflour

1 egg (beaten)

Fresh oregano (or dried if fresh not available)

1 cup breadcrumbs (sorry for the inconsistency of measurements!)

Splash of marsala

Slice the onions and cook for at least 20 mins until caramelised.
Add mushrooms and cook for a further 5 mins
Add the arborio rice and coat with onion mix.
Begin to add the stock and marsala little by little, gradually allowing it to reduce each time over a medium-high heat.
Season, and add the ham, torn mozzarella, parmesan and oregano.
When the risotto is complete, spread out flat on a tray with sides and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
When ready, remove from the fridge and form into large balls (or smaller depending on how you want to serve them).
Roll the arancini first in a bowl of cornflour to coat, then the beaten egg mix, and then finally the breadcrumbs until fully coated.
Heat your chosen oil in a saucepan and deep fry 2-3 at a time until they’re crisp and golden.

For the Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:

1 red pepper

½ onion

1 clove garlic

Salt/pepper

Cayenne pepper

Oregano

Tomato puree

Paprika

Roast the pepper with a little bit of oil for 40 ish mins at 160 until it is bursting from its skin.
Add to a food processor with the garlic and roughly chopped onion.
Blend to a thick-ish paste/sauce and then stir through the remaining ingredients.

I was apprehensive about how these would turn out, but it’s ended up being one of my favourite recipes. They are best eaten fresh, and don’t freeze that well, so make only as many as you can eat!

They’re creamy, gooey, and dipping them into the red pepper sauce gives the perfect sharp kick to it. They are impossible not to like, and I think I’m going to have to try a gorgonzola version next…

I served these as a starter to my Chicken Pesto Lasagne which you can also find the recipe for here on my blog, so enjoy!

¡Comemos!

Any eagle-eyed readers may notice similarities between the title of this post, and my very first piece that I wrote last year, both revolving around Italian food. Whilst the title of the first one centred around the notion that Spaghetti Bolognese isn’t in any way, shape or form an authentic Italian dish, this one serves to educate the reader on the, what I’m sure any Italians would consider very obvious, differences between a panzerotto and a calzone.

So, with the Italians’ culinary pride in mind, I’ll attempt to highlight those differences, and do justice to the much-loved Southern Italian street food snack.

Panzerotti (plural form) originate from the region of Puglia, in the south, and consist of a savoury fried parcel filled with pizza-style fillings. It is much lighter than a calzone, with thinner dough, meaning it’s perfect as a hand-held snack. Another notable difference would be in the cooking – as mentioned above, panzerotti are fried, whilst the calzone is oven-baked.

The most basic filling is tomato and mozzarella, but these can be customised as easily as pizza toppings. Despite originating in Puglia, this perfect on-the-go street food has spread throughout Italy, gaining particular popularity in Milan, and has now reached international waters including the US, Australia, and of course here in the UK.

When it came to starting my background research for this post, it’s interesting that nearly every single one of the first three pages of Google results was specifically related to the London street food business that I’m going to focus on today. In fact, there were relatively few results discussing this dish in general.

I was inspired to do a little bit more research on Panzerotti after being invited to try the street food stall Panzerotto Blues, who trade at both Greenwich and Tooting Markets.

I headed to Tooting, which is a market that I’d never visited before. It’s covered, and is open on weekends with various seating areas, so is a great place to go with friends and family for a chilled outing. There are a number of traders with everything from butchers, to organic beauty products, to record shops and bars, and of course street food.

Panzerotto Blues is located towards the back of the market, surrounded by fellow street food businesses, and there’s plenty of seating. There are a number of options for your panzerotto filling, from mozzarella, to gorgonzola, olives to meat feast. I went for the Diavola, with pepperoni, mozzarella and added chilli flakes for a subtle kick.

I loved that you get to watch this being made in front of you. It’s so fresh, and super interesting to watch the dough being made, rolled out, stuffed with fillings then folded and crimped before being dunked into the deep fryer. Despite the fact that it’s deep fried, it’s actually not that greasy at all, and it ends up being surprisingly light as it’s not overloaded with fillings. The crunch from biting into the outer shell was so satisfying, and that combined with the ooze of the melted cheese on the inside just made the perfect contrast. Although at Greenwich there isn’t any seating so you’re given the panzerotto in foil to hold and bite straight into, here at Tooting it can be served on a plate complete with knife and fork so it doesn’t have to be messy!

They also do a number of side dishes which I’m keen to go back and try. As well as mozzarella sticks and onion rings, they have a dessert of little fried dough balls served with mini marshmallows and nutella. To. Die. For.

Panzerotto Blues is 100% somewhere I’d recommend in London. It’s exciting to see small businesses strive to recreate ‘authentic’ local dishes, even when they’re not widely known over here. Yes, we all love pizza, pasta and arancini, but there’s a lot more to Italian grab and go food, and this is the place to try it.

Running an independent street food business that trades in various locations is a tough gig. Factors completely out of anyone’s control such as the weather can so easily affect profits meaing that without that stability, it’s a job to be done only by those who really care about the food they produce, and it’s vital that businesses like Panzerotto Blues get our support. London has such an excitingly diverse culinary scene, and so much of that is down to its markets and street food. Let’s continue to celebrate our city’s culinary diversity, and most importantly, listen to the experts – IT IS NOT A CALZONE!

¡Comemos!

Tag: italian

Ham and Mushroom Arancini with a Roasted Red Pepper Dip

IT IS NOT A CALZONE!