A traditionally Sicilian dish, arancini is given a Suffolk makeover by MasterChef quarter-finalist Hannah Gregory

Arancini. But make it Suffolk. There are few things in life finer than deep-fried golden balls of goodness. Especially if those balls are filled with oozy cheese and smoky, fiery chorizo. Arancini are, of course, more synonymous with Italy, Sicilian cuisine to be exact, but I wanted to champion local ingredients and producers with this version of them.

This dish is always a winner for me as it’s a two for one – make a delicious risotto for sups and then reserve enough to make your arancini the next day. You can keep them small as I have and offer them as canapés (bank this for Christmas) or make larger balls to serve as a starter or lunch.

I serve mine with garlic aioli and a cute little salami crisp hat – adorable.The quantities allow for a risotto sups and arancini snacks because I presume no one would turn down this option, but should you wish to just make the balls, halve everything. You can also freeze these guys, which works really well for getting ahead with the aforementioned canapés – once you have rolled them in the breadcrumbs, pop in the fridge for a few hours to firm up and then into the freezer for up to three months. When it comes to cooking them, you can deep fry from frozen, they will just need to sit in an oven at 180C for ten minutes post deep fry to ensure they are cooked through.

You absolutely do not need to use the ingredients that I have, well I mean you need to use the arborio rice etc but in terms of the specific cheese and meat, these will, of course, work with their more traditional counterparts but I find there’s something truly magical about working with ingredients that have come from just down the road to make something really special and supporting small independent businesses in the process.

SUFFOLK ARANCINI

(Makes 14 small balls)

Ingredients:

400g arborio rice

2 pints chicken stock

1 large onion

2 cloves of garlic

4 sticks of celery

100g butter

500ml dry white wine

120g Baron Bigod

190g Suffolk chorizo sausage

2 eggs

Plain flour for coating

Panko breadcrumbs for coating

14 slices Suffolk salami

Aioli (I use shop bought – so sue me)

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Heat the stock in a saucepan until steaming.

Finely dice the chorizo and fry in a dry large pan until golden brown. Remove from the pan, leaving the chorizo oil behind.

Very finely dice the onion, garlic and celery, remembering these are going to make the base of your dainty balls, ie you don’t want a massive hunk of onion sticking out of your perfectly-shaped roundness.

Add a knob of butter to the chorizo oil, once foamy add your veg and cook super duper slowly for about 20 minutes until everything is soft but not coloured.

Once the veg has softened, chuck in the rice and whack up the heat.

The rice will begin to lightly fry and turn translucent, once this happens, pour in the wine and keep stirring and moving everything around until the wine is absorbed.

Now it’s time to work in the stock – adding a ladle at a time and keeping the heat at a simmer, keep stirring and massaging the rice to get all the creamy starch out of it and stock into it. Don’t be tempted to chuck more stock in before the last lot has been absorbed, patience pays.

Once all the stock has been absorbed, check the rice is cooked – it should be soft but with a slight bite – if more liquid is needed, use boiling water. Season, remembering the chorizo and cheese you are about to add is quite salty.

Stir through the Baron Bigod and reserved chorizo.

Turn the heat off and add a knob of butter and stir well – pop a lid on the pan and leave for a couple of minutes so the risotto becomes oozy.

Siphon off any risotto you may be devouring and leave the rest to cool to room temperature before putting into the fridge to cool completely.

Hack: If I am eating the risotto and want to make sure I have enough left for arancini (because it is totally normal to devour a whole pan in one go), I reserve a tablespoon per ball so I’m sure I have enough.

When it’s time to shape your balls, remove from the fridge and gently roll portions between your hands into balls.

Set up three bowls – one with plain flour, one with whisked eggs and one with panko.

Dredge the arancini in the flour, then the egg, then the panko, making sure all is well coated.

Pop back into the fridge for at least two hours.

Heat a deep fat fryer or large saucepan of oil to 180C.

Whilst the oil is heating, fry your salami slices in a dry frying pan until golden and crispy, drain on kitchen paper.

Fry the balls for about 5 minutes until golden brown.

To plate, dollop some aioli on the arancini and top with crispy salami.

Find out about Hannah’s upcoming Supper Clubs and what she is currently cooking via Instagram: @WanderSups and www.wandersups.com.