Pesto Scallop Arancini

Arancini are a Sicilian street food made with rice rolled with Legal Sea Foods Online Shop's Scallops, cheese, and a breadcrumb exterior. Arancini is from the Sicilian word for oranges. These little golden orbs are crispy on the outside and have the perfect symphony of flavors from the pesto and scallops on the inside.

This version uses Dry Day Boat Sea Scallops which are high quality, chemical free and are harvested in the North Atlantic Ocean and are perfect for those who don't like too fishy seafood.

Brought to you by @c.health.and.wellness

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds Legal Sea Foods Online Shop's Scallops
• 5 tablespoons of flour
• 4 tablespoons of pesto (1. See Tips for specific pesto preparation)
• 1 cup rice
• 3 cups bone broth
• 1/4 cup Parmesan
• 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese
• 3 sage sprigs
• 3/4 cup roasted bell peppers
• 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tsp sea salt and black pepper
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

Instructions:

1. Thaw out your Legal Sea Foods Online Shop's Scallops overnight or right before, add lukewarm water.
2. Make your rice or risotto mixture by adding crushed garlic, onion, bone broth, and rice into a pot or rice cooker. Let rice cook for 20-25 minutes.
3. Finely cut your scallops and using a kitchen scraper, finely dice your scallop until paste like. Combine flour, pesto, sea salt, black pepper, and spread your pesto scallop mixture into a circular round shape. Add a 1 1 /2 inch block of mozzarella cheese. Form 3 inch scallop balIs.
4. Wrap your rice mixture around the pesto scallop pesto balls. Let rice balls harden in the fridge for at least one hour.
5. Preheat your air fryer to 380F for 10 minutes. Dip your rice balls in a whisked egg. Pour your breadcrumbs in a bowl, and roll your rice balls until evenly coated.
6. Place arancini in the air fryer and bake for 10-12 minutes, flipping arancini halfway to evenly cook! Enjoy!

Helpful tips:

• Pat dry your scallops and use 2 tbsp less of olive oil when making your pesto, so the pesto scallop mixture holds its shape. If your pesto is more oil based, add more flour.
• The crispy exterior and rice protects the pesto scallops from not being overcooked. I flash cooked the scallops by soaking them in lukewarm water. Soaking the scallops in warm or hot water before cooking helps the scallops to not shrink.
• Wrapping the scallop mixture into the rice while the rice is still hot/warm helps it keep its round shape when placed in the refrigerator immediately.
• Use block mozzarella cheese versus shredded, so the cheese does not ooze out into the crispy breadcrumb layer.
• Using warm or hot bone broth will reduce the rice's cooking time on the stove or in a rice cooker.