The Leftovers – arancini and riso al salto

When I suggested what to do with leftover risotto it was greeted with “and good luck with that” - there are never any leftovers. Nowadays I make this basic risotto and leave it to cool for the next dish - arancini (Italian rice balls). Traditionally mozzarella cheese is used but, thanks to the food writer Ravinder Bhogal I discovered taleggio cheese – another Italian cheese which melts very well and so is perfect for these beauties and makes a change.

In addition to the basic risotto you'll need 200g taleggio cheese, rind removed

and cut into small cubes, 3 eggs – beaten and 150g breadcrumbs.

Preheat oven 180/160fan/Gas 4

The eggs and breadcrumbs should be in separate dishes -

I use the foil variety – it's easy to shake the arancini around in the egg first

and then the breadcrumbs without too much handling

• the technique is called “pane”

You can now make your arancini as large or small as you

like – the recipe will give you 12 large (the size of a tennis ball)

or 30 small for canapes or a starter

Roll the rice into a ball then place a piece of taleggio

inside and close up the ball. Dip in the egg then in the breadcrumbs.

Shallow fry in oil.

Serve with a salad drizzled with a rich balsamic glaze

(a quick and easy quality product)

and then there's

Riso al salto

Melt butter in a non stick pan. Press leftover risotto into pancakes, 1cm thick.

Fry until crisp, turn, repeat, serve with grated Parmesan. Worth making a risotto for!

Useless bit of culinary nonsense – al salto means “to flip”. This recipe came from “The Leftovers Handbook” by Suzy Bowler.

If you've any space left and want to serve a dessert the Lemon Tiramisu would be good.

Ps. The arancini freezes well – defrost thoroughly and warm through in a pre-heated oven 160 fan/180/Gas 4 for 15 minutes.

Pps. There are various arancini fillings, pancetta, basil and mozzarella, sun dried tomato and mushroom to name but three.

Delizioso!

Next Lucky Dip - Indonesia