Mozzarella-Filled Rice (Risotto) Balls
- Ready In:
- 1hr
- Ingredients:
- 12
- Yields:
-
12-16 balls
- Serves:
- 4
ingredients
-
For the risotto
- 1 red onion
- 75 g butter or 75 g olive oil
- 150 ml dry white wine
- 275 g arborio rice
- 1 liter vegetable stock
- salt and pepper
- 25 g parmesan cheese, freshly grated
-
To finish
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 125 g mozzarella cheese, cubed
- 16 small basil leaves
- 125 g breadcrumbs
- oil (for deep frying)
directions
- Begin by making a basic white risotto. Peel and finely chop the onion.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan, and fry the onion for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the white wine and boil rapidly until most of the liquid is gone.
- Add the rice, and stir to coat with the onion and wine.
- One ladle at a time, add the stock, and simmer until almost completely absorbed (keep an eye on this - it'll stick to the bottom of your pan like nobody's business!).
- Continue until the rice has been cooking for ~20 minutes and it is soft and creamy but still has a little bit of bite to it.
- Season generously (if you can't find fresh Basil then at this point stir in a healthy portion of dried Basil or Mixed Herbs) and add the parmesan.
- Stir in the beaten egg (If you're making a big batch and planning to eat some, then obviously do this after you've taken out tonight's meal!)
- Allow to cool completely (ideally overnight - but half an hour in the fridge should do it. It's just easier to handle when completely cold).
- Spoon 1tbsp of the risotto into the palm of your hand.
- Place a basil leaf and a piece of mozzarella - about half an inch across - on top of the rice.
- Add another spoon of risotto and shape into a smooth ball.
- Roll the ball in breadcrumbs until evenly covered.
- Heat a pan of oil (use the smallest pan you have available to minimise wastage) until it is smoking hot and then fry the balls, a few at a time, for 3-5 minutes until golden brown.
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Reviews
-
The recipe was very tasty, but I had a hard time with them falling apart, usually in the pan. I think next time I will cut back on the egg as that I think the problem was they were too moist, perhaps I should have used smaller eggs. The recipe for the risotto alone was wonderful and I think I would use it sometime when I am just making risotto. I served this with salad as a dinner. Made for PAC Spring 2010.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I'm a young scientist in the UK who is facing the new challenge of life without a kitchen. My family comes from Yorkshire, so my talents lie in anything batter-based (Yorkshire puddings, pancakes etc). I'm a pescetarian (sea food only) but still love to try new things and experiment.