So yesterday I told you about my plans for a Rice Ball Bar at my Annual Holiday Party coming up. We started with the Shrimp Risotto Ball. Today, I saw a picture of an amazing dish of Pasta Primavera, and thought....why not!!! Lets make a Primavera, add the risotto and make it into the next new flavor of Rice Ball. It's got to be good.....there's all good stuff in there!!! Thant's what Grandma would say. Well she was right. It was delicious and will make an awesome addition to my Rice Ball Bar. Here's what I did......
RISOTTO PRIMAVERA BALLS
2 MEDIUM OR 3 SMALL ZUCCHINI DICED 1 LARGE ONION DICED 1 RED PEPPER DICED 1 LARGE PACKAGE OF MUSHROOMS DICED 3 OR 4 SMALL TOMATOES ZEST OF 1/2 LEMON 1 CUP GRATED PECORINO ROMANO CHEESE 2 CUPS SHREDDED MOZZARELLA CHEESE 1 EGG 1 1/2 CUP ABORIO RICE 4 CUPS CHICKEN BROTH OLIVE OIL SALT & PEPPER
FOR THE FRYING
EGGS FLOUR PANKO OIL
Begin by preparing your rice. In a sauce pan, bring the chicken broth and 2 Tblsp of Olive Oil to a boil. Add the Aborio Rice and simmer softly for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occassionaly until rice is done yet al dente. Set aside to cool.
Next, you can grab all of your veggies for your Primavera. Usually, in a Pasta Primavera dish the veggies are cut long and thin. But, to manage this rice ball we will just go ahead and dice everything up!!
Heat 3 Tblsp of Olive Oil in a large saute pan. Begin with the onion and red peppers since they will take the longest to soften. After giving them a bit of a head start, you can add the zucchini and the mushrooms. Saute all until soft and tender. Grate in the lemon zest and season with salt & pepper. Set aside and let it cool.
Now let's get it all mixed. In a large bowl, add cooled rice along with the cooled veggie mixture.
Add the grated cheese and the egg. Then the chopped tomato and shredded cheese. Mix well!!!
Now, I recommend you put the whole bowl into the refrigerator and chill.. This mixture will be soooo much easier to work with and roll when it is chilled. So take a break...grab a glass of wine and relax! Or....fry your balls tomorrow!!
When you are ready just set up your stations of flour, egg and panko. Grab a small handful of the rice mixture. I like them small but you can make them any size you want. Go to work....roll them in all stations and fry. Browning on all sides as you work in batches.
There you go....let me know how you like my newest addition to Rice Balls!!! They are cheesy and delicious!!!