Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Cheese and Mushroom Centred Arancini with Napoli Relish


Ingredients
1 cup Arborio Rice
2 - 4 cups Massel "chicken" stock
50g Butter
1 Large onion
2 Teaspoons of garlic paste
2 Tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
1 Cup of grated mozzarella cheese
1 Cup of diced shitake mushrooms
1/2 Teaspoon of oregano
1 cup of plain flour
1 egg
1 cup of bread / panko / corn crumbs
1 can tinned chopped tomatoes
1 cup of Dolmio classic tomato pasta sauce
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
Canola oil for frying
Salt and pepper

Method:
In non-stick pan over medium heat, add olive oil and butter plus diced onion and garlic paste. Saute until onion is translucent - about 3-5mins.
Add rice and coat well with onion and garlic. When rice starts to slightly brown add a little bit of the chicken stock. Once stock is soaked up continue to add remaining stock until fully absorbed. Add parmesan cheese to rice and turn off heat. Stir rice until cheese is combined. Poor rice into large bowl and place in fridge for 2-3 hours.

Crack egg into bowl. Add about 1/3 cup of water and whisk until combined. Place flour and crumbs onto separate bowls.

Mix grated mozzarella cheese and finely diced mushrooms together.

Take a golf ball sized ball of the risotto mixture. Flatten in palm of hand and then add about a teaspoon of cheese/mushroom mixture. Fold rice around until cheese is covered and you have a ball  shape. Dip into flour, then egg and then finally crumbs. Place arancini balls in fridge for 1 hour.

To cook, deep fry the arancini in canola oil that is on a medium/high heat. Place on paper towel afterwards to absorb excess oil.

For Napoli relish, saute a coarsely chopped onion in olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Now add Dolmio sauce and tinned tomatoes. Turn heat down and let simmer for 10-15 minutes or until liquid is reduced. Serve on side of arancini.


Monday, August 5, 2013

Pita bread

Mediterranean Almond Crusted Salmon with Citrus and Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini Flowers


Ingredients:
- Fillet of salmon
- Zucchini flowers
- 1/3 Cup Blue Bay ricotta cheese
- 1 Small blood orange
- 1 lemon (and zest)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup corn flour
- 2 Tablespoons of plain flour
- Snow pea sprouts
- Mediterranean almond crumbs from Pilpel Fine Foods (www.pilpelfinefoods.com)
- 1 Teaspoon of sugar
- Salt, pepper
- Canola oil for frying

Method

Salmon:
Remove skin from salmon. Place salmon in almond crumb mixture and coat all sides. Then wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge for 1 hour or overnight. Once ready, take salmon from fridge an leave out for about 30mins if possible. Then, pour about 1 tablespoon of canola oil into a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Place salmon in pan and cook for 3 minutes on one side and 1-2 minutes on the other.

Zucchini flowers:
For the ricotta stuffing - peel and finely dice the blood orange. Place in bowl with ricotta cheese, lemon zest, juice of half a lemon, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and sugar. Mix together and then set aside.

Wash zucchini flowers to remove any bugs/dirty. Spoon in 1 heaped teaspoon of the mixture into each flower and then twist petals together to seal.

For the batter, whisk water and egg together. Then add corn flour and plain flour and mix together with a butter knife. The mixture should still have lumps in it.

Add canola oil to pan for deep frying and place over medium high heat. Drop a bread crumb into oil to see if ready.

Place zucchini flower into batter and coat well. Then immediately place zucchini flower into oil. Fry for about 2-3 minutes. Then remove from oil and place on paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Slice salmon into thick pieces and place on snow pea sprouts. Place a couple of the stuffed zucchini flowers on top.