Your VP for Diversity and Inclusion, Bobbie, has been working hard on diversifying the food in our canteens alongside the wonderful people of the DCU Canteen! Each week there will be a special dish from a new country 🌍
You can get your Canteen Culture Feature meal for €5 plus a bottle of water in the Main Restaurant on the Glasnevin campus!
This week’s dish : Crispy fried Italian Arincini
Arancini are said to have originated in 10th-century Sicily at a time when the island was under Arab rule. In the cities of Palermo, Siracusa, and Trapani in Sicily, arancini are a traditional food for the feast of Santa Lucia on 13 December when bread and pasta are not eaten.
Adapt these arancini rice balls to your liking: add fresh herbs, sundried tomatoes or chopped ham. You can also make the balls from leftover cold risotto
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
15g unsalted butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, crushed
350g risotto rice
150ml dry white wine
1.2l hot chicken or veg stock
150g parmesan, finely grated
1 lemon, finely zested
150g ball mozzarella, chopped into 18 small pieces
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
For the coating
150g plain flour / 3 lightly beaten eggs / 150g dried breadcrumbs ( panko
Method
STEP 1
Heat the oil and butter in a pot, Add the onion, garlic and a pinch of salt and fry gently. Stir in the rice and cook for a further min, then pour in the wine. Bring to the boil and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Pour in half the stock and simmer, stirring continuously, gently add the remaining stock ladle by ladle (this should take about 20-25 mins). Add parmesan and lemon and season to taste. Spread the risotto out into a lipped tray and leave to cool to room temperature.
STEP 2
Divide your risotto into 18 equal portions – slightly larger than a golf ball. Flatten a risotto ball in your hand and put a piece of the mozzarella in the centre, then enclose the cheese in the rice and roll it into a ball. Repeat
STEP 3
Put the flour, eggs and breadcrumbs into three separate shallow bowls. Dip each prepared risotto ball into the flour, followed by the eggs and finally, the breadcrumbs. Transfer to a tray and set aside.
STEP 4
Gently fry your risotto in vegetable oil at 170c for 45 seconds or until golden brown & cheese has melted in the centre, best doing these in batches of 6/8 balls, serve warm with a basic tomato sauce for dipping
