Mushroom and Goat Cheese Arancini

In a saucepan heat the butter, add the Arborio rice, and sauté it until well coated with butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the chicken stock and bring it to a boil.  When boiling, cover and lower the heat.  Let it simmer for about 15 minutes until the rice is al dente. 

Once the rice has soaked up all the liquid, stir in the grated Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of black truffle oil while the rice is still hot.  Spread the rice out onto a sheet pan and place in refrigerator until cool. 

Add olive oil to a pan over medium-high heat, then add the mushrooms. Sauté until the mushrooms develop a bit of a golden brown color.  Season with salt, pepper, and thyme.  

Place the cooked mushrooms onto a cutting board and chop into small pieces. Return the chopped mushrooms to the pan you cooked them in.  Chop up the goat cheese and add it to the mushrooms and stir thoroughly to combine. 

Scoop out a tablespoon of the mushroom and goat cheese mixture and roll into a ball.  Do this until you run out of filling. 

Get your breading station ready. In one bowl, scramble 4 eggs, then add the flour and milk.  Whisk until a smooth, thin batter is formed.  There will be little lumps and that's fine. In a separate bowl, have your panko breadcrumbs ready to go.

To form the arancini rice balls, scoop 1/4 cup of the cooled rice mixture into the palm of your hand. Form the rice into a ball, pressing and warming the rice with your hands so that it begins to fuse together. Next, press your thumb down into the mixture to form a well and place a ball of the mushroom and goat cheese mixture into the indentation. Grab another small handful of rice and cover the filling ball and form into a larger ball, completely covering the filling.  Do this until you run out of rice.  (You may have some of the filling left... it's great spread on toast and put into your scrambled eggs!)

Place your formed arancini rice balls onto a sheet pan and place into the refrigerator to cool and firm up a bit.  About 30 min.

To fry the arancini, bring your oil up to 375 degree Fahrenheit.  

In the meantime, dip each of your arancini balls into the egg batter until completely coated, let the excess run off, then cover the ball with the panko breadcrumbs.  Place the breaded arancini ball back onto the sheet pan. Do this with all of the arancini balls.

Fry your arancini balls in batches until they are browned all over. You want them a bit darker than golden brown to make sure they will be nice and warm and creamy inside. Once fried, place them on a platter with paper towels to rest.

Put together your Black Truffle Aioli by mixing up all the ingredients until smooth.

To plate your arancini, place about a tablespoon of Black Truffle Aioli on the plate. Place your fried arancini ball on top of the aioli. Dust the top of your arancini ball with finely grated Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley.  Enjoy!