We recently popped in to Spartan Electrical to cook up a storm with The Smelly Cheese Shop crew. We had so much fun cooking AND taste testing these beauties... Pumpkin, Cheddar and Sage Arancini... they are soooo delicious! Perfect for iso life or post iso entertaining.
The Smelly Cheese Shop recommended their Cheese Culture Cloth Cheddar from Murray Bridge for this recipe and we are so glad they did. The story behind their cheeses are always fascinating, as so much work goes into the end product. This particular cheddar arrived from Murray Bridge to their maturing room at around 4 weeks old. After 12 months in the maturing room where the cheese receive lots of care and attention in the high humidity and constant temperature environment, they are ready to be released for sale. The result is a beautifully balanced, full flavoured traditional cheddar that is absolutely perfect for this dish.
As with anything, your tools make all the difference. So we really did enjoy cooking in the Asko kitchen which didn't let us down on heat control and helped us achieve a delicious crisp outer and sensational cheesy, gooey centre with no effort at all. This recipe is so moreish, perfect for a cold night and a glass of red wine!
Recipe
Pumpkin, Cheddar and Sage Arancini
Makes 12
Ingredients
200gm Salted Butter
100ml Olive Oil
300gm Arborio Rice
1 litre Chicken Stock, boiling
150gm Cheese Culture Cheddar
1 ea Brown onion diced
2 Cloves of Australian Garlic crushed
½ Bunch sage chopped
300gm Diced, roasted butternut pumpkin
50gm parmesan cheese grated
100gm toasted pine nuts
Salt and Pepper to taste
200gm Fresh Breadcrumbs
150gm Plain Flour
4 Free Range Eggs
1 cup of whole milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Sea salt
Method
In a deep heavy based fry pan, melt butter and olive oil and saute diced onion, garlic and sage.
Add arborio rice and saute until translucent. Start adding stock a ladle at a time, stirring until creamy and al dente. Season the risotto and add roasted pumpkin and grated cheddar. Stir through toasted pine nuts and then let the risotto cool completely.
Once the mixture has cooled, set up the flour, egg mix and crumbs.
Roll the risotto into balls and crumb. Refrigerate.
Heat vegetable oil in a heavy based saucepan on a medium heat. Check that the oil is hot enough by placing a small amount of breadcrumb into the oil.
Fry Arancini in small batches and drain on absorbent paper and rack.
Sprinkle with sea salt.
Cook sage leaves in oil to crisp and place on paper towel before using as garnish.
Give it a go and let us know what you think.
Enjoy!
The Family Cook Team x