Arancini (Rice Balls)

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

I used proper risotto rice for this attempt at Arancini and I'm really pleased with the result. I decided on the conical shape after watching a video on Youtube of someone making arancini and I thought it looked more appealing than just a round ball. I also found that when it came to cooking them, I had more control to get them evenly brown on all sides, rather than them rolling around in the oil.
Making arancini from scratch takes some time and preparation, but it is ideal if you have leftover risotto, which means you can pick up this recipe from step 3.
This amount makes 8 Arancini Balls, so perfect to serve as a starter with a Roasted Red Pepper sauce (recipe to follow). I managed to eat 2 with my dinner, but Steve ate 5 so you may need to double the quantity if you're cooking for people with healthy appetites!
Next time I want to try stuffing them with meaty bolognese - yum!

You will need:

• Saucepan to cook the risotto
• 1 small bowl for the beaten egg
• 1 medium bowl for the breadcrumbs
• Medium saucepan with about 2 inches of hot oil
• 1 baking sheet to keep cooked arancini warm in the oven

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups risotto rice, e.g. arborio
• 3 cups hot stock (you may need an additional 1 cup stock)
• 8 mini mozzarella balls or chunks cut about 2cm cube
• 1 egg, beaten
• About 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (or normal breadcrumbs)
• For added flavour you can add 1/2 cup parmesan to the breadcrumbs

Directions:

1. Cook the risotto rice until it is nice and tender, but not mushy. I used a Mushroom and Herb flavoured risotto to give it more flavour.
2. Allow the risotto to completely cool and then put it in the fridge.
3. When you're ready to make your arancini, remove the cooked rice from the fridge. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C/350°F.
4. Heat the oil in the saucepan until a few breadcrumbs dropped in the oil sizzle and go brown within a few seconds.
5. Have the beaten egg ready in a small bowl and the breadcrumbs ready in a medium bowl.
6. Divide the risotto into 8 portions. Wet your hands and take 1 portion and shape it with both hands into a hollow cone with the pointed end at the bottom. Place a piece of mozzarella in the middle and then seal the hole with the rice, creating a flat bottom. Put your arancini on a plate whilst you shape the rest of the rice.
7. One by one, dip the arancini into the egg and then the breadcrumbs, making sure they are well coated. I like to put a small amount of breadcrumbs in the bowl and then add more as I complete each arancini. This prevents all your breadcrumbs becoming all glued together as they come into contact with the egg.
8. When the oil is ready, carefully place 2 to 3 arancini into the oil and cook for about 4-5 minutes, turning so that they are nicely golden brown on all sides.
9. When they are ready, place them on a baking sheet and pop them into the preheated oven to keep warm whilst you cook the rest.
10. When ready to serve, rest them on paper towels to soak up any excess oil before plating up.

Potato Galette & Sweetcorn Succotash

MUNCH RATING: 3/5

I bought some frozen ready-marinated Mahi-Mahi (similar to swordfish) from the supermarket so all I had to do was pop it in the oven to cook. This meant I could turn all my attention to the side dishes.

I knew I wanted to serve potatoes with the fish but I wanted to try something new. I knew I would already have the oven on to cook the fish so that narrowed down my cooking method and I knew I wanted to achieve something with a crispy texture to counter-balance the fish. Somehow the idea of a Potato Galette came into my head even though I've never made it before. After a quick search on Google I discovered there are a variety of ways to make this dish, so I went with what sounded best.

I've been wanting to make Sweetcorn Succotash ever since we went to The Cheesecake Factory (TCF) and I tried it for the first time. To be honest, before that meal I didn't know Succotash was an actual dish, I just thought it was part of a catchphrase by Sylvester The Cat! I couldn't find a definitive recipe on Google, it seems to be one of those dishes which is open to interpretation, so I made up my own recipe based on what I remembered of my TCF experience.

POTATO GALETTE

• Serves 2
• Oven Temperature: Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C
• Cooking Time: 25 minutes
• You will need: A mandolin or a box grater, small baking pan

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 white potatoes (Russet or Maris Piper are good for this), peeled
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper
• Some Italian seasoning or other type of mixed seasoning (optional)
• 2 handfuls of grated cheese (I used a bag of Quattro Formaggio which had Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina and Mild Provolone)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C.
2. Slice your potatoes as thinly as possible, preferably with a mandolin. But if you haven't got one then I found that the wide slicing blade on a box grater works really well. To make it easier, lay the grater flat on a board with the slicing blade facing upwards and then push the potato away from you as you slice them.
3. Put the tablespoon of olive oil in a large bowl and add salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Add the sliced potatoes and toss in the olive oil until evenly coated.
4. Starting from the middle, arrange your potatoes in the dish so that they are overlapping and the bottom is completely covered.
5. Sprinkle on half of the cheese.
6. Arrange another layer of potatoes on top and then sprinkle on the rest of the cheese.
7. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the potatoes feel tender when you insert a fork.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes (perfect timing for me to cook the fish which takes 12 minutes!)

For convenience I used the 9" round silicone pan that I use to bake cakes. It gave a good result and was very easy to clean afterwards, however next time I would put a disc of foil at the bottom to give it a crispier bottom. Alternatively you could use a metal cake tin or simply arrange your potatoes in a circle shape on a metal baking sheet.
Of course you can use a much smaller dish but you will have more layers and your Galette is going to be much thicker, therefore it may take twice as long to cook.

SWEETCORN SUCCOTASH

• Serves 2
• Preparation time: 10 minutes
• Cooking Time: 15 minutes
• You will need: A medium saucepan

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, finely diced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed, grated or finely chopped
• 1/2 red pepper (bell pepper), diced
• Approx. 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes
• 1 432g/15.25oz tin whole kernel sweetcorn, drained
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup chicken stock

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in your saucepan, add the onion and gently saute until softened and slightly golden.
2. Add the garlic and cook gently for another minute.
3. Add the red pepper and cook until softened.
4. Add the chilli flakes and then stir in the sweetcorn.
5. Add the chicken stock and simmer until it has reduced and evaporated away.
6. It is now ready to serve.

FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY

I think it's great to share recipes, which is one of the main reasons I do this blog. Another reason is so I can take photos of my food and hopefully improve my photography skills.

I have a Nikon digital SLR and two lenses handed down to me from Steve (18-55mm) and my Dad (18-135mm) as they've upgraded theirs. I also sometimes use my old Sony Cybershot DSC-P150 if I want to take a quick snapshot, but it's not very good at close-ups and getting good depth of field.

It is actually quite difficult to photograph food and make it look appetizing. My biggest enemy is the lack of natural light. This is especially true when trying to photograph evening meals or during the winter months when it gets dark so early. So I hope to get a portable soft lighting studio and I've read that the Lowel Ego Light is brilliant. I'd also like to get a tripod as neither of my lenses have VR (Vibration Reduction) which helps to stabilize images so you don't get blurry pictures. But even without all this extra equipment I am still quite pleased with my efforts so far. It has made me look at the photographs in magazines with even more interest and makes me appreciate the effort the food stylists and photographers make to produce such tantalising images! Afterall, we eat with our eyes so it is making me think more about the presentation of my food.

The other problem I have with food photography is my impatience to eat the food! There are a few recipes on my blog which don't have photos because I just couldn't wait to eat my dinner! I also hate lukewarm food so whilst I'm fiddling around with the settings on my camera until I can get a decent shot, my dinner is getting cold! That's why I like baking because you have to let them cool down first! Maybe I should make more salads...