It's easy to make these rich and delicious arancini in the air fryer, with a creamy risotto and an oozy cheese centre.
Arancini are originate from Sicily and are named after their resemblance to little oranges ("arancini" means "little oranges" in Italian).
They're typically made with risotto, and stuffed with a cheese or meat filling, then coated with breadcrumbs and deep-fried. This version, however, is air fried, so it's lower in fat but every bit as delicious.
Arancini are often served as a starter in Italian cuisine, either on their own, with a little salad, or with a rich tomato sauce. If you're making an Italian entree, you might like to make these to serve as an appetiser.
To make these air fryer arancini, you'll start by making a simple risotto, which involves just a handful of simple steps.
First you'll sweat onions and garlic, then add arborio rice (also known as risotto rice) and then slowly stir in vegetable stock until the rice is tender and creamy, before finishing with a handful of parmesan cheese.
Next, you'll chill your risotto and then form it into ten balls, tucking a few small cubes a cheddar cheese into the centre of each one, before coating in breadcrumbs seasoned with smoked paprika.
Finally, you'll brush or spray your arancini with oil and cook them in the air fryer for 15 minutes until crisp in the outside and gooey and delicious on the inside.
Read on for the full recipe with detailed instructions and a helpful photograph for every step. And if you have any questions, just leave me a comment. Enjoy!
Ingredients
For the risotto
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- ½ small onion finely chopped
- ½ litre vegetable stock
- 125 g Arborio rice
- 50 g parmesan finely grated (vegetarian, if required)
- salt and pepper to taste
For the filling
- 50 g cheddar cheese diced (vegetarian, if required)
To bread
- 50 g plain white flour (all purpose flour)
- 1 medium free range egg
- 50 g fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- salt and pepper
- Spray oil
Equipment
INSTRUCTIONS
MAKE THE RISOTTO
Warm the oil in a large non-stick pan over a medium heat.
Add the onion and garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Fry for 3-5 minutes until softening.
Add the rice.
Stir for a minute or so until glossy
Add quarter of the stock and cook gently while stirring.
When the liquid has absorbed, add another ladleful of stock. Keep stirring and adding until the rice tastes cooked and the liquid has been absorbed. This whole process should take about 20 minutes in total.
Add the hard cheese.
Stir in and season to taste, then transfer to a tray and spread out to encourage it to cool as rapidly as possible.
Once cool, cover and place in the fridge to chill - cold risotto is much easier to shape.
MAKE THE ARANCINI
Divide the risotto mix into 10 equal portions. If you would like your arancini to be very evenly sized, you can either use an ice cream scoop, or you can weigh the risotto and then divide by 10 to work out the exact weight of each ball. This will vary slightly according to the exact amount of liquid added and absorbed - in my case, each ball weighed 45g.
Take a ball and flatten in your hand.
Place a cube of cheese in the centre, then squeeze the risotto around it.
Roll in your hands to form a ball. Do your best to keep the cheese in the centre as it may cause the arancini to burst if it is near one side. Repeat until all the risotto is used up.
BREAD THE ARANCINI
Prepare three bowls, one containing the flour, one containing the beaten egg and one containing the breadcrumbs and paprika.
Season all three bowls then stir in the seasonings and beat the egg.
One by one, dip the arancini first in the flour, then in hte egg, then in the breadcrumbs. Be sure to coat all over with each step. Repeat until you've breaded all ten.
Place 4 to 5 arancini in your air fryer basket and spray generously with oil.
Set the air fryer to 160C/320F and bake for 15 minutes until golden.
Repeat until all the arancini are cooked.
Your aranicini should be crisp and hot, with a tender, creamy risotto filling and a centre of oozy cheddar cheese.
Serve the arancini hot and fresh - as a side, starter or first course. They're wonderful with a little green salad or a fresh tomato sauce.
Once you've given my recipe a go, I'd love you to come back and leave a comment letting me know how yours turned out.
I'd love to see your videos and pics, too! Just tag me on social media. I'm @emilylearycooks on Twitter and TikTok or @amummytoo on Instagram.
Print this Air Fryer Arancini
Air Fryer Arancini
Ingredients
For the risotto
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- ½ small onion finely chopped
- ½ litre vegetable stock
- 125 g Arborio rice
- 50 g parmesan finely grated (vegetarian, if required)
- salt and pepper to taste
For the filling
- 50 g cheddar cheese diced (vegetarian, if required)
To bread
- 50 g plain white flour (all purpose flour)
- 1 medium free range egg
- 50 g fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- salt and pepper
- Spray oil
Equipment
- Medium tray
- Food wrap / clingfilm
Instructions
Make the risotto
- Warm the oil in a large non-stick pan over a medium heat.
- Add the onion and garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper. Fry for 3-5 minutes until softening.
- Add the rice and stir for a minute or so until glossy
- Add quarter of the stock and cook gently while stirring.
- When the liquid has absorbed, add another ladleful of stock. Keep stirring and adding until the rice tastes cooked and the liquid has been absorbed. This whole process should take about 20 minutes in total.
- Stir in the hard cheese, season to taste, then transfer to a tray and spread out to encourage it to cool as rapidly as possible.
- Once cool, cover and place in the fridge to chill - cold risotto is much easier to shape.
Make the arancini
- Divide the risotto mix into 10 equal portions. If you would like your arancini to be very evenly sized, you can either use an ice cream scoop, or you can weigh the risotto and then divide by 10 to work out the exact weight of each ball. This will vary slightly according to the exact amount of liquid added and absorbed - in my case, each ball weighed 45g.
- Take a ball and flatten in your hand. Place a cube of cheese in the centre, then squeeze the risotto around it. Roll in your hands to form a ball. Do your best to keep the cheese in the centre as it may cause the arancini to burst if it is near one side.
- Repeat until all the risotto is used up.
Bread the arancini
- Prepare three bowls, one containing the flour, one containing the beaten egg and one containing the breadcrumbs and paprika. Season all three bowls then stir in the seasonings and beat the egg.
- One by one, dip the arancini first in the flour, then in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs. Be sure to coat all over with each step. Repeat until you've breaded all ten.
- Place 4 to 5 arancini in your air fryer basket and spray generously with oil.
- Set the air fryer to 160C/320F and bake for 15 minutes until golden. Repeat until all the arancini are cooked.
Nutrition
More Italian recipes to try
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