Mushroom arancini with roasted tomato sauce

Crispy mushroom arancini stuffed with melty mozzarella and deep fried to a crisp, golden brown served with roasted tomato sauce is a great appetizer.

Isn’t risotto just the best? I can’t get over how every single bowl I eat, I fall deeper and deeper in love with it. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you’ll know that I am not shy about my intense passion for risotto. The sheer volume of risotto recipes on this website is testament to that. There’s just something about bowl-food that I can’t get enough of.

When I asked the lovely Cathy from “What should I make for…” to collaborate with me on this post, I was overjoyed when she recommended we both do our own versions of risotto. Cathy’s blog is a beautiful collection of wonderful recipes aimed to inspire you to get in the kitchen. Her recipes will help you decide what to make for any and ever occasion. Her birthday cake cake pops and the fig spread are just two of the recipes I completely adore from her blog. For this collaboration she made the most delectable-looking butternut squash risotto and apple risotto and you guys. Does that not look like the ultimate comfort food? I mean. Do yourself a favour and go check out Cathy’s blog. You’ll leave with a list as long as your arm with recipes you want to make, guaranteed.

Because I did a mushroom risotto recipe only a few weeks ago, I decided to make my second-favourite risotto-esque recipe: Arancini. Crispy mushroom arancini stuffed with melty mozzarella served with a roasted tomato sauce, to be more precise. If you’ve never had arancini before, you haven’t lived my friends. Crispy coating, aromatic risotto, melty mozzarella. What more could you ask for? And they are the ultimate recipe to knock together if you have any risotto leftovers in the fridge. But really, they are so good you’ll want to make a big pan-full of risotto just so you can turn them into the crispy orbs of deliciousness. I served them with an easy roasted tomato sauce which complimented the earthy mushrooms and milky mozzarella perfectly.

These mushroom arancini are perfection when served with drinks as an appetizer. Ooh, and they’ll be equally great served with ice cold beers as a casual snack. Game day just got a lot more delicious!

Mushroom arancini with roasted tomato sauce

Crispy mushroom arancini stuffed with melty mozzarella and deep fried to a crisp, golden brown served with roasted tomato sauce is a great appetizer.

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Appetizer, Arancini, Risotto, Vegetarian

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Author: Alida Ryder

Ingredients

• 2-3 cups cold mushroom risotto
• 1/2-1 cup mozzarella cubes depending on how many arancini you make
• 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs seasoned with salt and pepper
• oil for frying

for the roasted tomato sauce

• 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
• 1 red onion finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

• To make the roasted tomato sauce, pre-heat the oven to 200ºc.
• Place the cherry tomatoes, onion, garlic, Balsamic vinegar, sugar and thyme in a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and place in the oven.
• Allow to roast for 45 minutes until the tomatoes are soft then transfer to a blender and blend to your desired consistency. Set aside.
• To make the arancini, take small handfuls of the cold risotto and place a cube of mozzarella in the centre. Enclose the mozzarella then roll into a ball and cover with the breadcrumbs. Set on a plate and repeat until all the risotto has been used.
• Fry the arancini in hot oil until golden brown and the mozzarella inside has melted.
• Drain on kitchen paper and serve with roasted tomato sauce.