Panko-crusted smoky Spanish chorizo risotto balls with tomato concasse and manchego.
Crispy panko on the outside, creamy chorizo risotto inside, served with a light tomato sauce, and a little extra manchego cheese.
Making the tomato fondue is a bit of a process. It involves coring, scoring, blanching, shocking, peeling, deseeding, dicing, pureeing, and finally cooking the tomatoes. I’m getting tired just thinking about it!
Most of this work is to remove the skins and seeds, which changes the texture of the finished sauce. To save some time, you can skip the steps for blanching and pureeing by removing the core and dicing the tomatoes. Then, jump to step 2 of the recipe, adding the dice, juice, seeds, and all when instructed.
This recipe uses Spanish chorizo, a dried pork sausage flavored with smoked peppers and garlic. It comes smoked or unsmoked. I prefer to use the smoked version for this recipe, but unsmoked is tasty too. Spanish chorizo should not be confused with Mexican chorizo, a fresh sausage often containing other spices and types of meat.
Chorizo Arancini with Tomato Fondue
Ingredients
Risotto
- 1/2 cup Spanish chorizo diced
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic minced
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 2 tbsp butter divided
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp Spanish smoked paprika
- 1/2 cup manchego grated plus more for garnish
Arancini
- 2 eggs whisked
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 2 cups panko
- oil as needed for frying
Fondue
- 5 medium tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp garlic minced
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/16 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp oil
Instructions
Risotto
- Heat the oil and 1 tbsp of butter in a pot over medium heat. When the butter is bubbling add the sausage. Cook 2 minutes. Add the onion and cook until softened. Add the garlic, and the rice. Toast, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes. Add the pepper, paprika, and one cup of the stock. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to medium low. Stir the rice frequently and cook until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed. Add another cup of the stock. Continue stirring and cooking down the liquid. Stir in the remaining stock. Cook for 2-4 minutes, then add the manchego and remaining tablespoon of butter. Remove the rice from the heat and spread on a sheet pan to cool.
Arancini
- When the risotto has cooled, use a half cup measure to make 6 portions. Shape each portion into balls.
- Whisk the eggs. Mix the flour with the salt and pepper. Place the eggs, flour mixture, and panko in separate containers large enough to roll the arancini. Coat the balls with the flour, then the egg, and finally the panko. Refrigerate until ready to fry.
- Fill a pot with enough oil to cover the arancini. Heat the oil over medium, medium-high heat until 350 degrees. Add the arancini to the hot oil and cook until golden, turning over as needed. Drain away the excess oil and season with salt.
Fondue
- Fill a pot with salted water and bring to a boil. Make a bowl of ice water and set aside. Remove the core and score the bottom of the tomatoes. Plunge the tomatoes into the boiling water for 30-45 seconds. Remove them from the boiling water and place in the ice water. Peel the skins from the tomatoes, placing them in the jar of a blender. Quarter the tomatoes and place the seeds and pulp in the jar with the skins. Dice the tomatoes. You should have about 1 1/2 cups of dice. Blend the tomato skins and pulp and strain through a fine sieve. You should have about 1 cup of liquid.
- Heat a pot with oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato and liquid. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to low. Cook until all the liquid has been absorbed. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm until ready to serve.
- Spoon the fondue between 6 plates. Place an arancini on top. Garnish with grated manchego and serve.
