Fresh Tart

Like some sort of mad fryentist, give me a pan of hot oil and I will riff on and on an on... See below - Fried Cheese Curds - for what was really Part II of my latest fry tear (and a delicious one at that).

Part I began last Friday night, when my cousin Kelly and her husband Jomo came for dinner, and I spied leftover risotto in the cooler. The vision of arancini leapt into my head and while I really didn't have time to make them, I did anyhow, and gosh were we glad that I did. Risotto is lovely fried (le duh), especially with a little square of mozzarella cheese pressed into the middle (le duh), and just beautiful to snack on with a glass of prosecco.

In fact, I would happily have just that for dinner, with sliced tomatoes and a light salad to finish.

I made mine gluten-free by using Udi's white bread ground into bread crumbs in the food processor. Stir some of the bread crumbs into cold, leftover risotto to hold things together a bit, then roll risotto into 3/4-inch (or smaller; small is better, in this rare case) balls. Press a small cube of mozzarella into the center of the ball (optional), then roll the ball in more bread crumbs, pressing the crumbs into the risotto as you go. You want a sturdy coating to hold the filling in place as the balls fry.

Use peanut oil or safflower oil to fry them (not canola which tastes disgusting when heated to high heat). Serve hot.

Earthy. Good word, right? I'm all about earthy these post-Christmas days, merrily reading The Pillars of the Earth, relishing the descriptions of 12th century English peasants enjoying their "horse bread" (multi-grain) dipped in ale, their fire-roasted meats washed down with homemade wine, their thick ham-n-cabbage soups, served with slabs of farmer's cheese. Rarrr, I'm a total sucker for rustic-food writing of that sort.

Which made me enjoy tonight's last-minute dinner even more. I had John stop for a rack of lamb on his way home, and stirred up a batch of truffly risotto while I waited for him, and we ate both accompanied by the earthiest of wines - a 2003 Turley Paso Robles Zinfandel, heavenly. In fact, if you notice (in my lame phone-photo, sorry, my camera is at Stacey's), there are flecks of what appears to be black pepper in the risotto, but no, it's char from the grilled lamb juices. Yep, I decadently stirred the carved lamb meat juices into the risotto, before a finishing shower of freshly grated Parm and a sprinkle of truffle oil and coarse salt, and I dare you to find an earthier combo. (Recipe for risotto in comments, below.)

John and I just looked at each other and giggled like the 12th century English peasants we're not - John the Jew of York and his mistress, Stephanie Ricemaker of Lake and Field. Har!