Lobster & Green Pea Arancini with Saffron Aioli

 

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Inactive Cooling Time: 60 minutes

Prepares: About 40 arancini

 

This dish requires three unique steps that all require a fair amount of skill and a little bit of attention to detail. I will try my best to walk you through it step by step, keeping it as simple as possible for you. As far as the stock to use for the recipe there are a few options. We at the restaurant prepare lobster stock for our lobster mac n’ cheese, so we use that when making these. Preparing a lobster stock from scratch can require some work, and it can also stink up your house, but if you are up for the challenge then you could buy whole lobsters, use the meat to fold into the risotto and make the shells into a stock. If you aren’t feeling up to all of the extra work, you can simply use a light fish stock, or even a light chicken stock, if all else fails.

 

1 ea.                large shallot, minced

4 tbsp.            butter

2 cups                        Arborio rice

1/4 cup          white wine

3 cups                        stock, lobster, fish or if need be, chicken

1 cups                        green peas, fresh if you can, frozen if you have to

8 oz.               cooked lobster meat

1 cup              parmesan

¼ cup             raw butter

TT                   S&P

 

6 ea.                eggs

½ cup                        milk

1 cup              flour

5 cups                        panko bread crumbs

TT                   S&P

 

Pinch              saffron threads (about 8)

½ tsp.                        hot water

½ cup                        mayonnaise

1 ea.                garlic clove, minced

1 tsp.              Dijon mustard

1 tbsp.            extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp.              lemon juice

TT                   S&P

 

1 pc.               parmesan, for shaving for garnish

 

First, we must begin by making a risotto

 

• Place stock in pot and bring to a simmer
• Meanwhile, place another medium sauce pot onto medium heat
• Add the 4 tbsp. of butter and melt, then add the minced shallot and sauté until translucent, but do not brown
• Quickly add the Arborio rice, and stir to coat the rice with the butter
• Deglaze with white wine, allow to reduce
• Now, this is where it gets a little tricky, add the stock, ladle by ladle, while continuing to stir as you go
• Allow the rice to absorb the stock, and then add some more, do not add it all in at once, this is referred to cooking rice using the risotto method
• Be gentle while stirring, the combination of the starch from the rice, and the stock will create a natural creaminess to the dish
• As the rice gets closer to being cooked add less and less stock each time, to ensure that you don’t end up having too much stock when your rice is the right texture, what’s the right texture you ask? Just like pasta, it should be cooked al dente, or to the tooth, but in this case, because we are going to cool it down, and then cook it again when it is fried, we will cook it about one minute less
• As you approach the perfect texture fold in the lobster meat, followed by the fresh peas
• Lastly you will fold in the grated parmesan and the raw butter, stirring until it’s melted and combined
• Now, quickly spread the risotto out onto a parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerate to cool and stop the cooking

 

Once the risotto is completely cooled it is time to start forming it into the balls, you can use a small ice cream scoop, or simply form one inch round balls by hand

• Now it’s time to bread them, to do so you will need to prepare a breading station, using three bowls
• In the first bowl place the flour and season it
• In the second bowl, combine the eggs and milk, season and whisk together
• In the third bowl place the panko bread crumbs
• Lastly, set up a tray to place the breaded risotto balls onto
• Now, keeping one hand clean, one by one place the risotto balls in the flour, rolling it to cover it, then dust it off and place in the egg mixture, dripping it off, and then lastly into the bread crumbs, coating all sides evenly
• Place it on the tray and repeat with the remaining risotto
• At this point the risotto balls can be refrigerated for up to one day, but can also be frozen for up to one month, and then fried right from frozen

 

Time to whip up a delicious saffron aioli to enjoy these tasty treats with!

• Place the saffron threads in small bowl and add the hot water
• Allow to stand for 5 minutes
• Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and whisk to combine, adjust seasoning and refrigerate until ready to serve

 

All of the hard work is done, now it’s time to put everything together!

• Preheat the deep fryer to 335F
• Place the arancini in the fryer batch by batch, being sure not to overcrowd the fryer
• Fry until golden brown and hot all the way through, about 3 minutes
• Remove from the fryer and place on a paper towel lined dish, season
• To serve, smear the plate with a streak of saffron aioli and then place the aracini on top
• Grate some fresh parmesan over the risotto balls and serve while still hot

 

Who’s hungry?