Italian Rice Balls with Meat (Print Version)

# Ingredients:

→ Risotto Base

01 - 2 large eggs
02 - 50 g Parmesan cheese, grated fresh
03 - 1 small onion, diced up
04 - 400 g Arborio rice or another starchy Italian type
05 - 1.25–1.5 litres chicken stock, kept hot
06 - 120 ml chicken stock, extra
07 - Salt, how you like
08 - Black pepper, as much as you want
09 - 45 g unsalted butter, split up

→ Meat Filling

10 - 225 g ground beef, 80/20 is ideal
11 - 2 garlic cloves, crushed
12 - 75 g peas from the freezer, thawed out
13 - 1 bay leaf
14 - Salt, just sprinkle
15 - Black pepper, a few cracks
16 - 60 ml beef stock
17 - 120 ml tomato puree or passata
18 - 1 small onion, in tiny bits
19 - 30 ml olive oil
20 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano

→ Assembly

21 - 3 large eggs, whisked
22 - 200 g Italian-style breadcrumbs
23 - Vegetable oil, enough for frying deep
24 - Fresh parsley, chopped, if you want it pretty
25 - 125 g plain flour
26 - 225 g mozzarella, chopped into 1.25 cm blocks

→ Serving

27 - Warm marinara, for dunking
28 - Parmesan, shredded, for sprinkling on top
29 - Basil, torn up, optional to fancy it up

# Instructions:

01 - Toss most of your butter—save a little for later—into a heavy pot on medium. Once melted, add onion and cook till it looks see-through. Rice goes in next, give it a quick saute. Start ladling in hot chicken stock in stages, stirring all the time. Keep the liquid going in as it drinks it up, till the rice is soft but still has a bite and gets creamy.
02 - Turn the stove off. Throw in the rest of the butter and all that Parmesan, mix, and hit it with salt and pepper. Spread it all out on a tray so it can cool off in the fridge and stiffen up—leave it for at least two hours.
03 - Heat up the olive oil in your pan on medium. Soft-cook onion and garlic till they smell awesome. Toss in ground beef, breaking it up and browning it. Add the tomato sauce, peas, beef stock, oregano, bay leaf, and salt plus pepper. Let it bubble away till thick. Take out the bay leaf and set this mix aside to cool.
04 - Crack those eggs and beat them, then mix into the cold risotto. Keep a bowl of water handy to keep your hands wet—makes things less sticky. Scoop up some risotto, flatten it, poke a dent, then nestle in a spoon of meat and a mozzarella piece. Push more rice over to hide the filling and roll it into a little ball about five centimeters big.
05 - Set all the finished balls on a tray and pop them in the fridge for half an hour so they keep their shape.
06 - Pour flour, beaten egg, and breadcrumbs into three separate shallow bowls. Roll each ball first in flour, then dip in egg, and finally cover with breadcrumbs till all sides are coated.
07 - Heat a deep pot of oil to 175°C. Carefully drop a few balls at a time into the hot oil, turning so all sides get golden and crunchy. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and rest them on paper towels to soak up extra oil.
08 - Pile the balls on a serving plate. Pass around warm marinara, shake on some extra Parmesan and parsley, and tear up a bit of basil if you’re feeling fancy.

# Notes:

01 - Chilling the rice until it’s cold helps keep everything together. Dip your hands in water between balls so nothing sticks.
02 - A kitchen thermometer keeps the oil at just the right temp for crisp outsides.

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