Ingredient: Beef

These arancini balls are deliciously golden and crispy, filled with a beef and creamy mozzarella centre. This filling is more classic in comparison to our butternut squash and fontina arancini balls, where our meat ‘ragu’ option is one of the best-loved Sicilian snacks and street food across Italy and the world!

The rice is flavoured with saffron in which the balls are then rolled in breadcrumbs before frying them gently in oil. They are traditionally made with caciocavallo cheese, however as this is difficult to source outside of Southern Italy, we use parmesan cheese to give a fruity and nutty taste to the recipe.

These delectable rice balls can either be eaten as an appetizer, or as a meal when paired with a soup or a salad. Make sure to dip your arancini balls with a delicious marinara sauce of Salsa Verde!

  1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp of butter in a saucepan, toasting the saffron and stirring it with a wooden spoon so that it does not burn.
  2. Add the rice and sauté it for a few minutes, add the broth and Maldon Salt and cook for 10 minutes over a high heat without a lid. Lower the heat, then cook for 5 minutes more.
  3. Cover the saucepan, turn off the heat, and let it stand for 5 minutes. Remove the lid, add 1 tbsp of butter and parmesan cheese, mix and pour over a bowl. Spread it out well with a spatula, cover it with film and leave to cool at room temperature.
  4. Heat the rest of the butter in a pan, sauté the meat over a high heat for 5 minutes, add the white wine and tomato paste, lower the heat, and cook for 15 minutes with a lid. Chop the mozzarella. When the meat is cold, mix it with the mozzarella.
  5. Once the rice has cooled, divide it into 8 portions. Cut a piece of cling film and place it over one hand. Spread a portion of rice over the film and compact it into a ball shape.
  6. Sink your thumb in the centre of the rice ball to make room and add a tablespoon of the filling. Shape the rice back into a ball or cone shape.
  7. Whisk the water with the flour in a bowl until smooth. Put the breadcrumbs on a deep plate, and heat abundant oil in a small frying pan or on a ladle.
  8. First, dip each arancino in the bowl with the batter. Drain it a little and roll it through the breadcrumbs until it is completely covered. Fry the arancini two at a time until they are golden. Remove them from the heat with a skimmer and leave them to drain on the tray with absorbent kitchen roll. If you are going to serve them hot, put them to one side in an oven preheated to 60ºC while the others are frying. Sprinkle with a pinch of Maldon Salt to finish.

Can you choose different arancini fillings?

A classic arancini is made up using meat, cheese and peas, however there are many filling variations to choose from!

Arancini al pistachio is a very traditionally-loved across Italy, where the rice balls are stuffed with a beautiful pistachio béchamel sauce. The pistachios are usually grown near Mount Etna, where this variety is considered to be made from.

Continuing with the theme of vegetarian-friendly options, you could also try our butternut squash and fontina arancini balls. The butternut squash gives a beautiful, nutty and earthy feel to the rice balls, with the addition of fontina cheese to give a gentle sweetness.

If you are a big cheese lover, why not try a Neapolitan Arancini, where the only filling consists of cheese! You only need arborio rice and pecorino cheese, which is a hard cheese perfect for grating!

Do you have a sweet tooth? Well Arancini con cioccolato are traditional italian rice balls filled with chocolate sauce! The filling is usually dark chocolate, vanilla and a pinch of cinnamon.

How to store arancini?

You can keep arancini balls in the fridge for up to 5 days. When you are wanting to consume, please reheat in an oven at 400F/200c for 10 to 15 minutes. This will allow the outer to become crispy again and the centre to become beautifully creamy and melty. You can eat them cold if you like them that way, but we can’t guarantee a showstopping cheese-pull from this!

If you are wanting to freeze these, they can be stored in the freezer for 2 to 3 months. Make sure to freeze them on a baking sheet. When you are wanting to bake from frozen, place them in the oven at 400F/200c for around 15 to 20 minutes.

‘This flavoursome showstopper is made for sharing, best placed in the middle of your table and enjoyed with friends and family. I’m going to be using the Weber crafted Sear Grate on the Genesis barbecue for this one – perfect for larger cuts, evenly conducting heat, while sealing in moisture. Adding Maldon Salt to the meat draws out its natural flavours and helps form a delicious crust’.

  1. Season and cook the rump steak on the barbecue. (I’m doing mine medium).
  2. While the steak is cooking, place the onions face down on the barbecue until dark and charred.
  3. Boil the sugar and vinegar.
  4. Mix coriander, parsley, shallots, and chili, add olive oil and Maldon Salt, set aside.
  5. Check the steak with the Weber Connect probe and remove when its at your desired temperature, I’m going for 50 degrees.
  6. Place the onions into the sugar and vinegar and simmer for 5 minutes on the barbecue.
  7. Coat on both sides with the chimichurri sauce and rest for 10 minutes.
  8. Carve the steak and season well.
  9. Place the caramelised onions around and serve

A beautiful seared steak salad recipe paired with the best in season purple sprouting broccoli and broad beans.

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
  2. Begin by cooking the steak. Make sure your meat is out of the fridge 30 minutes before you want to cook it, so it has time to come up to room temperature. Get a frying pan or griddle pan on the heat get it to a nice high heat. Drizzle some olive oil onto your steak and season generously with Maldon salt and cracked black pepper. Once the pan is nice a hot, place the meat in and allow it to sear and sizzle on one side first. Depending on the size of your steak this can take a good 5 minutes on each side. You want good, deep caramelization on all sides of the meat.
  3. While the meat is cooking place the purple sprouting broccoli onto a baking tray and drizzle over some oil and a pinch of Maldon salt. Place the tray into the oven and roast the broccoli for 10 – 12 minutes until tender and starting to char slightly.
  4. Once the steak is cooked to your liking – we’ve served it medium rare here – remove from the pan and leave it to rest on a chopping board. The resting time is key! It helps keep all the cooking juices to stay absorbed inside before slicing.
  5. While your meat rests, prepare the rest of the salad. Place the olive oil in a small bowl and mix with the chopped parsley and coriander, the diced red chilli and some Maldon salt and cracked black pepper. Set this dressing aside.
  6. On a large platter scatter over the wild rocket. Next top this with the roasted broccoli and the blanched broad beans.
  7. The meat will be rested now, so carefully slice at a diagonal into thin slices. Place this over the salad. Any meat juices that are left on the board can be carefully poured into the bowl with the dressing ingredients.
  8. Drizzle over the dressing, shave some parmesan across the top and sprinkle over toasted pine nuts. Give the whole salad a final pinch of Maldon salt and some cracked black pepper and then serve.

The day before you want to cook, dry brine the steaks. Simply sprinkle the Maldon on both sides of each steak and set on a rack hung over a tray. Slide into the fridge and leave uncovered overnight.
To make the blue cheese and chive butter, mash the butter, cheese and chives in a small bowl using a fork. Season with black pepper. Scoop onto a sheet of baking parchment, roll up into a log and twist the ends of the paper in opposite directions to form a neat cylinder. Chill in the fridge.
When you are ready to cook, light the barbecue and set up the fire for direct cooking. High heat is essential for searing steak, so give the grill time to heat up thoroughly.
Drizzle the steaks with olive oil and season generously with salt. Lay the steaks on the grill bars directly over the fire and cook for 5–6 minutes, flipping every 30 seconds, or until nicely caramelized. If the steaks have a strip of fat on the outside edges, use tongs to hold them vertically on their side to allow some of the fat to render off.
Using a digital probe thermometer, like the Weber Connect, is the best way to eliminate
guesswork. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the steak, ensuring the tip is in the centre; if you go too far the probe will be too close to the grill bars on the other side and give an inaccurate reading. The internal temperature should read 52°C for rare, 60°C for medium and 71°C for well done. If you want to rest your steaks a little before serving, remove from the grill when they’re 5–8°C below your preferred serving temperature. The temperature will continue to rise as it rests. Resting steak is a little controversial – I’m not convinced its worth it and prefer to slice and eat hot form the grill.
To serve, scatter the rocket over a large platter, adding the tomato slices and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Slice the steaks into thick, juicy ribbons and pile on top of the salad. Top with slices of the blue cheese and chive butter, which will melt as you eat.

We’ve teamed up with Chef Jason Whitehead to create a delicious beef fillet recipe, paired with a refreshing asparagus and leek terrine.

Beef fillet is the most tender of all steaks to eat, with it’s flavour often being described as having a mild, beefy flavour. It is not as flavoursome as other meaty cuts such as rump or sirloin. However, there is a reason why beef fillet is the most desired out of all cuts; it is very lean, with minimal marbling, meaning it is less fatty in taste and texture. As a result, you are greeted with a almost melt-in-your-mouth beef cut that is beautifully soft and tender.

Chef Jason Whitehead serves his beef fillet with a tasty asparagus and leek terrine. Nothing pairs better than green vegetables with a hearty protein! Both the asparagus and leek help balance the meal and add a gentle hint of sweetness as you cut into the dish. Jason composes the two vegetables into a terrine, where layers of each vegetable are delicately placed on top of one another and packed into a rectangular dish. It looks very impressive and makes a great side dish!

The charred leek puree brings a gentle warmth and smokiness to the dish, with a pinch of Maldon Salt to elevate the sweetness.

How to make the charred leek puree…

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees.
  2. Cut your leeks in half straight down the middle, then drizzle some EVOO and season with some Maldon Salt.
  3. Pop them into the oven and leave them there until they start to turn black / burn.  Keep an eye on them, and when the leeks are completely black, remove them from the oven.  While still warm, add them to a blender along with your garlic clove, rosemary sprigs and about 1/8 cup of EVOO.  Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as you go and adding more EVOO as needed.  You want a thickish paste.  Pass this mixture through a sieve, then taste and adjust seasoning accordingly.  Place into a squeezy bottle and set aside. 

Here’s how to make the leek and asparagus terrine…

  1. Blanch your spinach leaves for 20 seconds in hot water, then immediately place them into an ice bath.  Remove from the ice bath and dry thoroughly with a kitchen towel. Remove the thick white stem from the spinach leaves, trying to keep the leaves intact.
  2. Cook your leeks whole in some salted water until tender, then drain and pat dry.
  3. In a small saucepan, bring your veggie stock and agar-agar to a simmer for 2 minutes, then strain and set aside (it must remain warm or it will start to set).
  4. Line a small loaf tin with clingfilm.  Now line the tin with your spinach leaves, making sure they overlap each other, and also hang over the sides of the loaf tin.  Place your asparagus spears and cooked leeks inside the loaf tin and press down gently to make sure they are nice and compact but not squashed. Pour over your veggie stock mixture, then fold in your overlapping spinach leaves to ‘close off’ the terrine.  Using another loaf tin of the same size, place it on top and fill it with some dried lentils or beans to weigh it down. Pop it into the fridge to set. 

How to make the charred tomato sauce..

  1. Fry your shallot in the butter until nicely browned, then add in your tin of chopped tomatoes.  Season with Maldon Smoked Salt and brown sugar, then allow the sauce to reduce until it is thick and the tomatoes have mostly disintegrated.  
  2. Blend until smooth, then pass through a sieve and set aside. 

Here’s how to cook beef fillets…

  1. Make sure your fillets are at room temperature.  Rub them in some EVOO then season well with Maldon Salt and black pepper.  Get a frying pan nice and hot, then drizzle with a little more EVOO.
  2.  Fry your fillets to your liking, then add in your butter, garlic and rosemary, and baste your steaks with this foamy mixture.  Allow your steaks to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving. 

To serve…

  1. Gently remove your leek and asparagus terrine from your loaf tin, then remove the clingfilm.  Cut into 2cm slices and place onto a serving plate.
  2. Place your fillets next to the terrine, then decoratively place dots of your charred leek puree and smoky tomato sauce around the plate.  Add some Maldon Salt to your steaks and then serve. 
  3. Optional – drizzle a little red wine just around the plate.

Can you substitute beef fillet?

Beef fillet is expensive compared to other meats due to it’s time-consuming efforts of cleaning, trimming and preparing the meat cut. Gristle, and fatty tissue are taken out, which although results in a beautifully tender fillet, the price can be pretty costly!

Cheaper cuts of meat normally come from the rear end of an animal, resulting in a tougher, chewier texture. However, a great alternative to beef fillet would be shoulder cuts. This is a very economical cut of meat and rich in flavour! It may not be readily available at your local butcher, but they can either cut or order them for you if requested.