Chicken and Mushroom Rice Balls
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
100g button mushrooms, finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
200g (roughly 4 handfuls) Calasparra or arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
400g boneless chicken breasts, very finely chopped
2 1/4 cups chicken stock - use a low-salt version if possible
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup fine breadcrumbs
light cooking oil for frying
Description
These delicious little morsels make fantastic tapas. They are a bit time-consuming to make but are just the thing to impress guests.
Method
Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan or saucepan over low heat. Add the onion, mushrooms and garlic & cook for 4-5 minutes.
Add the rice and turn up the heat to medium. Stir to ensure the rice is evenly coated with the oil and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add the wine and allow it to bubble away until it is almost all evaporated. Add the chicken to the pan along with enough stock to almost cover the rice. Reduce the heat to low and stir constantly. Add a ladleful of stock at a time as the liquid is absorbed.
After 15-20 minutes, taste the rice to check if cooked. Once cooked, remove it from the heat and stir in the butter, Parmesan, parsley and salt to taste. Allow the mixture to cool slightly.
To make the balls, roll the mixture into walnut-sized balls and dip each ball into egg then breadcrumbs. Add oil to a frying pan to a depth of 1cm. Fry the risotto balls over medium heat until golden brown. Alternatively, fry the balls in a deep fryer. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately, but warn guests that they will be hot!
Makes approximately 40 balls.
Categories
Snacks/Tapas
Pasta/Risotto
Chicken
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