Arancini with Roasted Aubergine, Tomato and Garlic with Aioli

Ingredients

200g Cooked risotto 150g Plain flour 3 Eggs 150g Panko breadcrumbs 400ml Vegetable oil needed if you are deep frying/3 tbsp if you are baking in the oven For the sauce 1 Aubergine 1 tbsp Olive oil 1 tsp Salt 1 Bulb of garlic 400g Tinned chopped tomatoes 1/2 tsp Dried oregano 40g Butter 1 tbsp Chopped basil leaves Salt and pepper for seasoning 4 tbsp Mayo and 1 garlic clove chopped and stirred together

Here’s how

To make the arancini, remove the cooked risotto from the fridge and portion out using an ice cream scoop. Place all the portions of rice onto a baking tray and return to the fridge to firm up. Take 3 bowls and place the flour in one, beaten eggs in the next and the breadcrumbs in the final bowl. Using wet hands shape the rice balls and press together to compact them further. Roll the arancini in the flour, then transfer into the beaten egg and finally roll in the breadcrumbs making sure they get a good even coating. Return the rice balls to the baking tray and store in the fridge until you’re ready to cook them. Place the garlic in the centre of a piece of baking parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Twist the paper up and place in a pre heated oven 160c for 30-40 minutes. Meanwhile to make the tomato sauce finely dice the aubergine and place in a medium sized pan with a splash of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Once the aubergines are soft, it should take approximately 10 minutes add the tinned tomatoes and continuer to simmer and reduce the sauce for 15 minutes. Add the oregano and stir in the butter. Remove the garlic from the oven once soft, carefully cut the root from the bulb and squeeze into the sauce carefully so as not to burn yourself. Finally add the chopped basil and season with salt and pepper if required. To cook the arancini you have two options you can deep fry in the above amount of oil at 180c until golden, I suggest you cook in batches of 4-6 at a time. Or you can place them on a baking tray and drizzle with a little oil and bake at 180c for 15 -20 minutes or until golden and crisp. Serve the arancini with the roasted aubergine and tomato sauce, finished with the garlic mayo.