Recipes

Arancini alla Carbonara

This is a spaghetti carbonara inspired arancini recipe with creamy mozzarella and crispy bacon. Romans would use pork jowl, if you're seeking a rich middle of the road protein. Pancetta would do well in this recipe. We pair this dish with our Italian inspired red blends. Deliziosa!

Ingredients for 24 Servings:

75 g mozzarella (cut into 2cm cubes or shredded)
50 g plain cornstarch (well seasoned)
3 eggs (beaten)
100 g panko breadcrumbs
20 g Granulated Onion
1 for deep frying vegetable oil
1 sea salt flakes
1 lb pack diced pancetta or thick cut bacon
4 cloves roasted garlic (bashed or minced)
1 crushed to make 1/4 tsp black peppercorns
1 cup Pecorino or Parmesan (finely grated)
5 tbsp double cream
2 lbs spaghetti (broken into 2cm pieces)

Directions:

1. To make the carbonara, put the pancetta and garlic into a cold frying pan and cook for 5-10 minutes or until the fat has rendered from the pancetta and is really crisp, and the garlic is golden. Remove from the heat and discard the garlic.

2. Beat together the egg yolks, black pepper, Parmesan and double cream in a small bowl.

3. Cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water following pack instructions, then drain, reserving a cup of the pasta water.

4. Tip the spaghetti into the pancetta pan and add a spoonful of the cooking water to the yolk mix. Stir well, then pour into the pancetta pan and put over a low heat. Toss everything, adding a little more pasta water and cooking for a minute until the sauce is thick. Cool completely then chill for 2 hours.

5. Using damp, clean hands take a piece of mozzarella and form the cold carbonara round it to roughly the size of a golf ball and put on a tray. Repeat with the remaining mozzarella and carbonara.

6. Toss the arancini frst into the seasoned four, then in the beaten egg and then the breadcrumbs, so they’re well coated.

7. Fill a pan no more than 1/3 full with vegetable oil and heat to 180C or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Cook the arancini, in batches, for 2-3 minutes or until really crisp and golden, then drain on kitchen paper and season lightly with sea salt fakes.