risotto balls

hi friends, lovers + people probably related to me -

30, flirty + thriving

on a serious note, i’ve been thinking a lot about this tavi gevison article, haley nahman’s last maybe baby newsletter - sexual agency + the subsequent lack thereof, the concept of “surprised consent” per you’re wrong about (listen to the episode about the amy fisher), and the recent coverage of sarah everard disappearance/murder and all the disappearances/murders that aren’t covered. the original version of this section was too long and slightly rant(y), a prosecco fueled stream of consciousness word vomit. these thoughts + feelings are still swirling around in my brain and if they’ve been preoccupying yours as well e-mail me + i’d love to chat.

in hs when people were asked to dances with the “i finally got enough balls, HOCO 2011?” i was always disappointed that no one had their mom help them make risotto balls for this momentous occasion

soooo risotto balls are one of my all time favorites, honestly what’s not to love about fried cheese-filled carbs. they look damn impressive but they aren’t hard to make, just require making the risotto part slightly ahead of time - because scooping hot or even warm risotto into balls does not seem like it would work very well. also i make mine larger than average so they are more like a ~ meal ~ than an appetizer. with a slightly thinner spicy herby secret tomato sauce to dip or drizzle, or spoon into. this goes great with a bright lemony red onion arugula salad if you need some balance

INGREDIENTS for SPICY HERBY SECRET SAUCE

san marzano tomatoes
fresh parsley
fresh basil
yellow onion
garlic
olive oil
salt + pepper
red pepper flakes
anchovies (secret - shhhh)

INGREDIENTS for THE RISOTTO BALLZ

arborio rice
yellow onion
chicken broth
white wine (bottom mid shelf sauvy blanc, anyone?)
1 whole wedge of parmesan cheese (like a broken record, i’m going to say - grate it yourself)
like a stick of salted butter
oil (like canola or vegetable - bottom shelf is fine, no need to get fancy here)
couple eggs
block of mozzarella cheese
panko breadcrumbs (these are also good with italian breadcrumbs if you like absolutely have to - but are next level with panko, much more CRUNCHY)

steps

1st the night before or the morning of the DAY you want to eat the risotto balls, make the risotto. my risotto recipe is loosely riffed off of giada’s - i follow her basic structure, with a few tweaks (WAY MORE BUTTER, PARM, PEPPER + ONION & very little measurements). in a large saucepan heat a whole container of chicken broth, in a dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot melt four tablespoons of butter and sauté a whole chopped yellow onion till slightly soft but not brown, add 1.5 cups of arborio rice and 1 cup of sauvy blanc, stir together + let the wine absorb. then you’ll keep ladling in the chicken broth + stirring, till it is all gone and slightly tender. add a couple tablespoons of butter, literally a whole block of parmesan cheese, lots of fresh cracked black pepper + a some salt. stir together, maybe have a little taste bowl, you know for quality control, then put in the fridge to chill.

2nd make the sauce, sauté several sliced cloves of garlic, 1 chopped yellow onion in some olive oil - then some salt, pepper + red pepper flakes, drain the anchovies and add them in shhhh they will melt - then crush a whole can of san marzano tomatoes, stir and let come together for a while, taste see if it needs anything then add lots of fresh chopped basil + parsley - let that wilt and meld into the sauce.

3rd assembly time! first cut your mozzarella preferably the whole milk kind into lil cubes, then in pie plate dump all your panko, in another pie plate crack 2-3 eggs and whisk together. then we are going to scoop all the balls using either an ice cream or cookie scoop or a 1/4 measure in my case since these were some BIG boyz, once you are all scooped then you can break them a bit, stuff the mozzarella in and reform the ball. repeat until all balls are filled. then you roll them in the egg + dredge them in panko

4th heat some oil in a deeper pot they don’t have to be able to be completely submerged - fry the balls in batches till they are all golden brown, salt them generously + stash in the oven at 200 to keep warm. also heat the sauce in a small saucepan if necessary

5th photograph them, tell all your friends + eat too many

particularly good things i consumed this week

a v. lowkey sunday cooking + hanging out with janel

alison roman’s Q&A on a monday night when i had red wine + ice cream for dinner

the mount winning the NEC championships on tuesday - what we talk about when we talk about march madness, baby

eating spinach artichoke dip + pico de gallo for an early snack dinner on wednesday - i miss seeing my MKTG team in person so much

celebrating kaitlyn’s new job on which would have been an otherwise quiet thursday night

being able to live stream my little sister molly’s 7th grade volleyball game friday - i pulled a bob and was definitely yelling at the tv

currently consuming + hopefully consuming later

this almost too fancy salad bowl, maybe with my tax return, these running shorts, that i actually don’t run in, but still love (my long distance ladies, you know), a real brunch + and an ‘exploringgg day part of a “city weekend” with my little sister megz.

also something to note there will be no newsletter next week - taking a little pause to revel in writing 30!? of these and enjoying a long weekend taco trip with my brother.

as always,

mk