Leftover risotto? The perfect excuse to make Arancini! These Pumpkin Arancini are a great way to reinvent leftover rice and make a delicious new meal out of it. I’m using my Pumpkin and Bacon risotto recipe and adding feta and mozzarella, to make these addictive crispy rice balls, together with a punchy Tomato Chilli sauce to dip them in. Perfect for a tasty starter to please a crowd!
Ingredients needed for these Pumpkin Arancini
Arancini
- Chilled, cooked Risotto: The essential ingredient of that you will need is leftover risotto. I used 7 cups of cooked rice, from my recipe of Pumpkin and Bacon Risotto. Any other risotto type will also work fine, as long as it’s cold (not from frozen). Warm or hot rice will not stick together well during shaping and frying. Regarding rice type – arancini balls need to be made with a starchy rice like an Arborio, Carnaroli, or Vialone Nano Rice so that it will combine together well.
- Feta and mozzarella Cheese: This will add some extra flavour and cheesiness to the Pumpkin Arancini. I generally choose smooth Danish feta and shredded mozzarella, but you can also use any other cheeses that you like! Big chunks of cubed mozzarella to put in the middle of the arancini also work well!
- Crumb: I usually crumb in 3 steps for extra crispiness. Flour first, beaten eggs and breadcrumbs last. A standard breadcrumb works great as well as a crispy Panko breadcrumb. If you want to get creative and have the time, you can do a separate chili crumb by adding a teaspoon of dried chili to half the breadcrumbs to give some extra kick to a batch of arancini.
- Vegetable or canola oil: For shallow frying the arancini.
Tomato Chilli Sauce
- Italian Tomato Passata: I like to use Mutti brand
- Chilli Sauce: Any chilli Sauce, I use Sriracha or replace for Chilli Flakes
- Garlic Cloves
- Olive Oil & Salt
How to Make these Pumpkin Arancini
Combine the risotto with the cheeses and shape the arancini
Combine the chopped feta and mozzarella with the cold risotto till it’s all evenly mixed. With your hands tightly shape the rice into golf-sized balls until you have used up all the risotto. As a rough idea, 7 cups of cooked rice will yield roughly 30-35 arancini.
Crumb the Pumpkin Arancini
Set up three separate bowls, one with plain flour, one with the lightly beaten eggs, and one with the breadcrumbs. Coat the rice balls in flour first, then egg, then breadcrumbs and set them aside in a separate large plate.
Tip: To not get the coatings (and your hands) too messy, the best way is to use one hand to handle the dry coatings of flour and breadcrumbs, and the other hand to handle just the dipping in the egg.
Shallow fry the Pumpkin Arancini
Once all the Arancini are shaped and coated, start frying. I usually just shallow fry the arancini, so I set up a large nonstick or cast iron pan and add about 1 cup of Vegetable Oil.
Once the oil is hot (you can check by dipping a wooden spoon and if little bubbles appear all around it it’s hot), add the arancini, in batches, making sure not to overcrowd the pan.
Fry them on each side for 1-2 minutes, and constantly turn them over to the other sides till they are crispy and golden all around. Make sure to keep an eye on them constantly as they can burn very quickly once the oil is hot!
Once fried, set them aside on a large plate lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil. The pumpkin arancini are ready to eat!
How to make the Chilli Tomato Sauce
This chili tomato sauce is perfect for dunking the arancini and is great served hot or cold. It can also be made in advance too!
To make the sauce, in a pot, gently cook the garlic in some olive oil for 1-2 minutes. Add the passata, the Sriracha and the salt and simmer over low to medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes.
Serving Suggestions for these Pumpkin Arancini
Once the arancini are fried, they are perfect to eat immediately with the Chilli Tomato Sauce for dipping. They are great as a starter, or as a main meal. Enjoy!
Storage suggestions for these Pumpkin Arancini
If you are not eating them immediately they defenitely can be made in advance. Once fried, they will last in the fridge for up to 2 days or can be frozen in batches in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
To reheat, if they are in the fridge, they will need around 15-20 minutes at 200 dg or 180 dg if fan forced.
From frozen, defrost overnight or in the microwave and as per above till piping hot.
Loved this recipe? Want more?
Here, you can find the perfect Pumpkin and Bacon Risotto used for this recipe.
Check out more of my rice recipes like this Black Rice Salad.
Pumpkin Arancini with Tomato Chilli Sauce
Ingredients
- 7 Cups Cooked Pumpkin Risotto (See separate recipe and cooking times in post)
- 3/4 Cup Shredded Mozzarella (approx 150 gr)
- 1/2 Cup Feta (crumbed, approx 100 gr)
- 1 Cup Vegetable or Canola Oil (for frying)
- 1 Cup Plain white flour
- 2 Eggs (lightly beaten)
- 1.5 Cups Dried Breadcrumbs (Plain or Panko)
Tomato Chilli Sauce
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
- 2 Cups Tomato Passata
- 2 tbsp Sriracha Sauce
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Combine the chopped feta and mozzarella with the cold risotto till it's all evenly mixed. With your hands tightly shape the rice into golf-sized balls until you have used up all the risotto.
- Set up three separate bowls, one with plain flour, one with the lightly beaten eggs, and one with the breadcrumbs. Coat the rice balls in flour first, then egg, then breadcrumbs and set them aside in a separate large plate.
- Add the vegetable oil to a large non stick or cast iron pan, over medium heat. Once the oil is hot (you can check by dipping a wooden spoon in the oil and if little bubbles appear all around it's hot), shallow fry the arancini, in batches, making sure not to overcrowd the pan.
- Fry them on each side for 1-2 minutes, and constantly turn them over to the other sides till they are crispy and golden all around. Make sure to keep an eye on them constantly as they can burn very quickly once the oil is hot!
- Once fried, set them aside on a large plate lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil.
- Meanwhile, to make the Tomato chilli sauce, in a pot over low to medium heat, gently cook the garlic in some olive oil for 1-2 minutes. Add the passata, the Sriracha and the salt and simmer over low to medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly and serve with the Hot or Warm Arancini.
