Truffle Mushroom and Aged Goat Gouda Arancini

Finally it's March! This winter seems like it's dragged on FOREVER and I think I speak for a majority of the Northeast when I say that I'm glad to see it go!

Luckily I got to take a break last month and travel to sunny Florida for Disney World's runDisney weekend. Two of my friends and I ran the Royal Family 5K… it was a hoot! We basically spent the entire weekend acting like five year olds. Here's a pic of us with Cindy and her handsome prince after we crossed the finish line: 

And I stopped for a shot with a character from my favorite Disney movie ever along the course. My mom happened to find a similar shot of me with the Beast over ten years ago… 

Anyway, enough chit chat… on to today's recipe! 

I've been loving arancini lately. They're small, appetizer-sized fried balls of risotto that can be found on the menus of lots of Italian restaurants around NYC.

My sister happened to give me this amazing truffle salt from Williams Sonoma for my birthday last month, so I figured I'd make a truffle mushroom arancini (side note: if you're looking for a good read on truffles, check out this article from the New York Times). 

Who knew that truffles form at the root of oak and hazelnut trees… 

Couple things about this recipe… If you don't feel like buying truffle salt, no worries! Regular salt will do. Also, if you can't find goat gouda, regular gouda will suffice. 

Happy frying! 

Truffle Mushroom and Aged Goat Gouda Arancini

INGREDIENTS

makes 16 

• 1 cup arborio rice (risotto rice) 
• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth 
• 1 cup baby bella mushrooms, finely chopped (about 4 mushrooms)
• 1/4 cup yellow onion, finely minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1 cup aged goats milk gouda, shredded 
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten 
• 1/2 tablespoon truffle salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup panko
• 1 cup seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
• Vegetable oil for frying(see below) 
• Marinara sauce for dipping

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small saucepan, heat chicken broth over medium heat. Once it's heated, keep it simmering over low heat. 
2. In a separate, medium-sized saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add arborio rice to the pan, and sauté until rice becomes translucent, about 2 minutes. 
3. Add chicken broth to rice, one cup at a time, stirring constantly. Once the first cup of chicken broth is absorbed, add the second, and so on. Once all three cups of broth have been absorbed by the rice, transfer the rice to a large bowl to let cool. 
4. While rice is cooling, add the second tablespoon of butter to a skillet and melt. Once melted, add onions and garlic to the skillet and sauté for a minute or two, until translucent. Add mushrooms to the skillet and sauté until cooked, about 10 minutes. Add the mushroom mixture to the arborio rice, and allow to COMPLETELY cool (otherwise you'll end up with scrambled eggs when you add them in!). 
5. While rice is cooling, begin heating your vegetable oil. Pour vegetable oil into a medium saucepan, enough that the oil measures about 4 inches deep. Using a liquid thermometer, heat to 350 degrees. 
6. In a separate dish, combine panko and breadcrumbs. 
7. Once rice and mushroom mixture is cooled, add in gouda, parmesan, eggs, truffle salt and pepper. Using your hands, roll the mushroom mixture into one-and-a-half inch balls, then roll in the breadcrumb mixture. 
8. Place balls (very carefully) into hot oil and allow to cook through, about 2 minutes. They should be a golden brown color when finished. 
9. Remove with a strainer and place on paper towels to cool. 
10. Serve with marinara sauce and enjoy!