Arancini Reuben Balls

My homemade Arancini Reuben Balls are absolutely gourmet. Arancini balls, also called risotto balls, are an Italian appetizer made with left over risotto, stuffed with mozzarella and prosciutto, then breaded and deep fried! Oh boy, they are out of this world. They are crispy on the outside, and creamy and cheesy on the the inside. You can eat them plain or serve them with a tomato sauce.

My homemade Arancini Reuben Balls are made with risotto, diced corned beef, Swiss cheese, cream cheese and sautéed jalapeño’s to incorporate that “popper” flavor! I serve them with my gourmet thousand island dressing which I make with Greek yogurt and a creamy horseradish to compliment the corned beef. The flavors of the risotto balls paired up with the thousand island dressing are outstanding!

Do you remember having poppers? You know, those deep fried jalapeno’s stuffed with cream cheese? Wow, I used to love those little morsels and I haven’t had them in ages so that’s why I thought it would be fun to put a twist on my Risotto Reuben Balls. It was a great idea too because the cream cheese lightens up the risotto balls and the jalapeno’s give it that something extra special!

You’ll be so happy when you make these homemade gourmet Arancini Reuben Balls with your left over St. Patrick’s Day corned beef. They freeze up really well too which will make for a nice little treat at a later date although I highly doubt you’ll have any left behind.

My thousand island dressing is fantastic as a dip for my baked sweet potato fries too. You might want some other appetizer’s to go along with the Risotto Reuben Balls like my crab cakes, or bloody Mary shrimp. You could even serve them as an appetizer to a homemade pasta dinner served with a Caesar Salad and some chocolate pecan pie for dessert! Hope you enjoy the show 🙂

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Risotto Ingredients and Directions – Total time to make approx. 30 minutes:

I halved my recipe specifically for the Arancini Reuben Balls but I usually make full a full recipe, double the amount below

1 cup Arborio Rice
3/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion
2 tbsp butter and a drizzle of olive oil
1/3 cup white wine
4 cups hot chicken broth – homemade or store bought
1/2 cup grated Reggiano Parmesano

Directions:

In small pot heat 4 cups chicken stock til simmering
Add onion to medium size pot to 1 tbsp. butter & sauté on low til soft
Stir in 1 cup Arborio rice and sauté til the rice looks chalky
Add in 1/3 cup white wineat a time, keep stirring, when wine is absorbed begin to add in 4 cups of simmering chicken stock ONLY 1/2 cup at a time-it will be approx 4 minutes for each addition
ONLY add in chicken stock when previously addition is completely absorbed while STIRRING all the time
Stir in 1 tbsp butter and 1/2 cup Reggiano Parmesano after the last of the chicken stock is absorbed, then let cool to make Arancini Reuben Balls.

Ingredients- Makes 20 – 1 1/2″ Arancini Balls:

1 1/4 cup diced into 1/4″ pieces of corned beef
2 cups cooked risotto (see below for recipe my recipe for risotto)
4 oz. softened cream cheese
1/4 cup grated and packed Jarlsberg swiss cheese
1/4 cup grated and packed mozzarella cheese
2 jalapeno’s finely diced and sauteed just til barely softened 2 minutes
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 lg eggs
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Directions for Arancini Reuben Balls:

Put all of the above ingredients into a large bowl and stir with spatula til mixed
Use cookie scoop and from balls, roll in hands after scooping to get nice and round
Whisk eggs in a med. bowl
Add bread crumbs to another and begin the dip formed risotto balls into egg and them into bread crumbs and place on dish
Put breaded risotto Reuben balls in frig for 20-30 minutes
When the Reuben balls are chilled heat 1/2″ vegetable oil in medium size pan and begin to heat on low for 5 minutes and then turn up to med/high to 350º
Add in Arancini Reuben Balls in 2 batches into hot oil
Fry for about 2 minutes and then turn over for another 2 minutes til golden
Remove to cookie rack covered with paper towels to absorb excess oil
Plate up Arancini Reuben Balls with my homemade gourmet thousand island recipe below 🙂

This Thousand Island Dressing is great on Reuben Wraps also

INGREDIENTS FOR THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING:

1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2/3 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise
1/2 cup ketchup
1 Heaping tbsp finely chopped cornichons
1/3 cup sweet relish
1 Heaping tbsp grated sweet onion
1 Heaping tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
3 tbsp creamy horseradish
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp “seasoned” rice wine vinegar
1-3 dashes of Siracha

DIRECTIONS:

Put all ingredients into a large bowl and whisk til combined

Seafood Stuffed Artichokes

Artichokes, any way you cook them are simply a treat because they are a seasonal veggie here on the east coast. 100 percent of all artichokes that are commercially grown in the U.S. come from California where you can pretty much buy them year round. My artichoke recipe is a tasty concoction of shrimp, sea scallops, fresh spinach, mushrooms, onion, garlic, Reggiano Parmesan, bread crumbs, red wine, extra dry vermouth and chicken broth. They are a lot of work granted but it’s not like you make these all the time and once you taste them you’ll want to set aside time in the future to plan for these babies!

The Artichoke is actually a relative of the thistle so if you ever see one fully mature they open into this incredibly gorgeous giant purple flower. That’s where the choke comes in because it’s a cluster of immature florets at the center of the artichoke which is not edible. This hairy-like choke in the center MUST be removed when you stuff them. I show you how to prep the artichokes and scrape out that choke in the photos below. This seafood stuffed artichoke recipe is delicious with my sun-dried tomato aioli sauce for dunking the leaf ends and heart and you can make this aioli dip a couple of days ahead. After these stuffed artichokes you may need a sweets recipe that you can make the day before like pavlova with fresh pineapple and berries, or chocolate-avocado mousse.

Ingredients – Serves 4 People at 1 Stuffed Artichoke Each:

1 recipe of sun-dried tomato aioli sauce

4 large artichokes

3 large sea scallops cut into 1/2″ pieces

10 lg shrimp cut into 1/2″ pieces (about 1/2 lb)

3 strips of Boars Head Bacon

6 button mushroom caps sliced thinly and then chopped

6 oz. fresh spinach leaves coarsely chopped (a handful less than a bag)

1/2 large spanish onion or Vidalia onion finely chopped

3 garlic cloves put thru the garlic press

2 Tbsp olive oil

3/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

3/4 cup grated Reggiano Parmesan

1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp red wine (1/4 cup to deglaze onion/mushroom mixture and 2 Tbsp in the stuffing and 1/4 in baking dish with vermouth and chicken broth)

3/4 cup dry vermouth

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 Tsp salt (1 Tsp for boiling the artichokes)

1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Fill a large bowl with cold water and sliced up lemon

Cut the ends off of the artichokes

Cut 1 1/2 ” off the top

Using your thumbs in the center of the artichoke pull apart as much as you can to loosen the inner layers a little

Insert pointy spoon and begin to dig in to the center removing the purple pointy leaves and keep digging til you reach the hairy choke and then remove all of that too

Rinse the center holes of the artichokes to fully remove any left over choke

Always keep the all the artichokes in the lemon water bowl while working on them (it helps them from not turning too brown)

Pour the whole bowl of lemon water and artichokes into a large pan and add 1 tsp salt

Bring to a boil ( this will take about 15 minutes) and then simmer for 30 minutes

Drain Artichokes and turn them upside down in a baking dish to further drain

Cook up 3 pieces of Boars Head Bacon til crispy, chop and set aside

Sauté the chopped onion, mushrooms caps and garlic cloves put thru press in 2 Tbsp of olive oil, 1 Tbsp butter, and 1/2 Tsp salt til golden about 12-15 minutes

Add in 1/4 cup red wine to de-glaze pan, let reduce for 1 minute

Add in fresh chopped spinach and cover for 2 minutes

Mix spinach with tongs and take sauteed onion/mushroom/spinach mixture off of the stove and put into a fresh bowl to let cool

Wash, dry and chop sea scallops and shrimp to 1/2″ pieces

When onion/mushroom mixture is cooled add in scallops, shrimp, Gruyere, Parmesan, chopped bacon, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper and 2 Tbsp red wine

Mix items gently together

Turn artichoke over in baking dish, drain any water left over at the bottom

Stuff the artichokes with the seafood stuffing making sure to add in to all the layers of leaves going around the artichoke as shown in the photo

When the artichoke is stuffed add in 3/4 cup extra-dry vermouth, 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1/4 cup red wine to the bottom of the baking dish

Cover the Artichokes with foil and bake for 35 minutes

Take Foil off and bake 5 minutes more

Serve with sun-dried aioli sauce on the side for dipping the leaves and dunking the heart …mangia!