ZUCCHINI ARANCINI
Arancini are usually made with rice, often from leftover risotto. They have a delectable filling, such as cheese, truffle or ragu and are rolled in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. A lot of Italian cooking represents this style of using up everything, and is the spirit of this dish. If you, like me, are seduced into planting lots of zucchini, unsurprisingly you will have lots of zucchini to use up, so this is for you.
Arancini are Sicilian and southern Italian, and a similar recipe in Rome is called suppli. There are many variations and other names as you travel through Italy, but I think this one, made purely from grated zucchini, is a uniquely New Zealand garden version.
Serves 6
3 zucchini, grated
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Small handful of parsley, finely chopped
Thyme leaves, to taste
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 eggs
½ cup (40g) finely grated pecorino
½ cup (100g) fine dry breadcrumbs, plus more, to coat 100g mozzarella, cut into 1cm cubes Vegetable oil, to deep-fry
Place the grated zucchini into a clean tea towel and wring out over the sink, to remove excess liquid. Place zucchini into a large bowl.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Gently cook the onion and garlic until translucent, then add to the zucchini.
Add the parsley, thyme, pepper, eggs, pecorino and breadcrumbs.
Mix well and season with salt and pepper. If the mixture seems too wet add some more breadcrumbs, though it should be fairly moist.
Take a small handful of the mixture and flatten a little in the palm of your hand. Place a cube of mozzarella in the centre, then enclose with the zucchini mixture and shape into a ball. Roll in the fine breadcrumbs to thoroughly coat. Half fill a large saucepan with vegetable oil and heat over medium high heat. Deep-fry arancini in batches until golden brown. Drain on paper towel.
Note: You can make these in big batches and freeze them after crumbing. They make a great lunch snack in the middle of winter.