Jambalaya Arancini with Cajun Rémoulade

Method

1. Finely dice the onion, celery and pepper (about 5 mm), mince the garlic and cut the sausage into 5 mm pieces. Heat the sautéing oil in a 18 cm pot over medium heat and cook the sausage, vegetables and garlic for 5 min until soft.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil (for sautéing) 1 tspSmoked sausage, finely diced 100 gOnion ½Celery stalks ½Green bell pepper ¼Garlic cloves 1

   medium heat

2. Stir in the paprika, cayenne, thyme and tomato paste for 30 seconds, then add the unrinsed rice, stock and salt. Boil on high heat for 3 min, stir once, cover and cook on low heat for 16 min. For arancini the rice must be fully tender and a little sticky so the balls hold together.

   Add in this stepSmoked paprika 1 tspCayenne pepper 2 pinchDried thyme ½ tspTomato paste 2 tspShort-grain or risotto rice 140 gChicken stock 380 mlSalt ½ tsp

   high heat→low heat

3. Stir the chopped shrimp into the rice, cover and cook on low heat for 4 min more until the shrimp are cooked through. Turn off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, spread the rice thinly on a tray to cool quickly, then cover and refrigerate for 1 h. Cold rice shapes far more easily.

   Add in this stepRaw peeled shrimp, finely chopped 80 gParmesan, grated 20 g

   low heat

4. While it chills, make the rémoulade: mix the mayonnaise with the mustard, hot sauce, lemon juice, chopped capers and half the sliced scallions. Keep it in the fridge.

   Add in this stepMayonnaise 4 tbspDijon mustard 1 tspHot sauce ½ tspLemon juice 1 tspCapers, chopped 1 tspScallions ½

5. With wet hands, divide the rice into 6 portions. Flatten one in your palm, put a cube of mozzarella in the middle, close the rice around it and squeeze firmly into a ball a little bigger than a ping-pong ball. Coat each ball in flour, then beaten egg, then panko.

   Add in this stepMozzarella, cut into 1.5 cm cubes 60 gPlain flour 3 tbspEggs 1Panko breadcrumbs 50 g

6. Pour the frying oil into a deep pot about 20 cm wide to a depth of 5 cm and heat over medium-high heat to 175 °C (no thermometer: a crumb dropped in should sizzle and float at once). Fry in 2 batch(es) so the pot isn't crowded, 4 min per batch, turning, until deep golden. Pat the balls dry of any moisture, never fill the pot more than a third with oil, and don't leave it unattended.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil, for deep-frying 800 ml

   medium-high heat

7. Drain on a rack or paper towels, scatter with the rest of the scallions and serve hot with the rémoulade. Break one open to check: the mozzarella should be molten and the centre piping hot.

   Add in this stepScallions ½