Ricotta & Spinach stuffed Pesto Arancini
Why I Love This Recipe
This was a recipe I included during my PESTO feature week.
Ingredients You'll Need
1 ½ C Arborio Rice
1 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
1 Tsp. Sea Salt
3 C Cold Water
4 Tbsp. Pesto
270 ml. Ricotta
1 clove Garlic, minced
½ Yellow Onion, diced
1 ½ C Spinach, chopped
¼ Tsp. Sea Salt
¼ Tsp. Black Pepper
½ C AP Flour
4 Eggs, beaten
1 ¼ C Seasoned Bread Crumbs
¾ C Panko Crumbs
1 ½ C Prepared Tomato Sauce
Grated Parmesan & Fresh Parsley - Garnish
Directions
Combine the ricotta, garlic, onion, spinach, sea salt and black pepper in a mixing bowl. Use a fork to stir everything together. Cover and refrigerate.
In a medium sized pot, combine the water, rice, salt, and butter. Bring to a boil on medium high heat. Cover and reduce heat 15 – 20 minutes. Remove from heat and leave covered 5 minutes. Whip with a fork and incorporate the pesto.
Spread the pesto rice on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in a smooth, thin layer to help it cool. Cool 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Use a tablespoon to pack the rice into an ice cream scoop pressing it from the middle against the sides to for a bowl. Drop about a TBSP. of the ricotta mixture into the bowl. Pack a small layer of rice over the filling and transfer the formed arancini to a baking sheet lined with parchment. Place a sheet of parchment over the arancini and refrigerate about an hour to firm them up.
(Depending on size of scoop you may yield between 16 - 19 Rice Balls)
Set up the breading station; one bowl with flour, one with eggs, and one with the crumb mixture. Take the arancini and bread them starting with flour, followed by egg and breadcrumbs. Place the breaded rice balls on a baking sheet that has been coated in cooking spray.
Spray all the arancini with cooking spray and place in the oven to bake. Bake 20 – 25 minutes until nice and brown.
Serve with warm tomato sauce and garnish with fresh parsley and parmesan.
