Now for the sauce photos

Here we go :

Onions, garlic and spices in the pan with tomato paste

The sauce at the beginning of the cook

Check out the depth of colour at the end

P.s. You could create a pizza with tomato sauce as a base and load with meatballs and whatever else takes your fancy – don't forget to treat yourself to a generous sprinkle of grated Parmesan as well as the traditional mozzarella.

You could go the obvious route of spaghetti (as a guide 75g of dry spaghetti per person) - tomato sauce and meatballs – traditional is good!

One thing is certain your sauce and meatballs give you flexible working week supper ideas and the cherry on top of the cake – all you have to do is pull the sauce and the meatballs from your treasure chest.

What's not to love!

The perfect sauce ...

… I have it on good authority!

The perfect sauce was originally coined a “lip smackingly good” tomato sauce – by a student and who am I to disagree! It has many uses, iconically probably with meatballs.

Here goes :

Tomato Sauce

500g passata

1 medium onion, chopped finely

2 cloves of roasted garlic or crushed fresh garlic

1 tbsp of rapeseed oil

knob of butter – 25g

1 tbsp of tomato paste

250g of vegetable stock

a generous sprinkle of oregano

black pepper to taste

1 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp of salt, to taste

Melt the oil and butter in a medium size saucepan (21cms/8” in diameter), add the onion and soften gently – 4-5 minutes, then add the garlic. Add the oregano and black pepper. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes. It's important that you cook the paste – if you don't it will be bitter and taste horrible! Add the passata, stock and then the sugar. The sugar is meant to balance out the acidity that one sometimes gets with tomatoes. Simmer the sauce for 30 minutes. The sauce will reduce and thicken. Taste the sauce before you add any salt – it's a matter of personal taste. The flavours in your sauce will develop and so will benefit from being made a couple of days ahead and fridged.

The sauce freezes well, bear in mind the size of portions – whatever suits you – smaller is more practical, you can always take out two – no waste.

You'll get 670g of sauce from the recipe.

Now for the photo-guide!

A couple of extra arancini ideas!

If you leave your arancini plain as the original recipe try serving with an Alfredo sauce sprinkled with chopped flat leat parsley a definite lunch or supper dish – delicious comfort food!

Here's the recipe :

1 tbsp unsalted butter

200ml double cream

50g freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for sprinkling

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Gently heat the butter and the cream together, stirring, until the butter has melted, then stir in the Parmesan. Slowly bring to a gentle boil, turn down the heat and simmer, stir continuously for a minute or so until you have a smooth, creamy sauce.

This sauce can be made ahead.

Delizioso!

Finally, I'm a fan of fusion, in particular Italian/Malaysian - this may sound even more strange but I love arancini with a curry sauce, stuffed or not – surely I can't be the only person out there with strange taste?

If you think about it you generally eat rice with a curry … why not in a ball with a crispy shell?

Why not serve the rice ball with a rendang curry? You can cheat if you like a buy a ready-made paste and add it to coconut milk or, a sort of half way house, make your own but speedily.

Rendang Sauce

100 ml coconut cream

50ml water

3 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp curry powder

(I used mild)

1 tbsp kecap manis

(also known as sweet soy sauce)

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over a low heat and

serve. Can be made ahead and re-heated.

There's nothing wrong with a short cut or two – it may not appeal to the purists out there – some of us haven't got time!

The world is definitely your lobster – you can add prawns or chicken, whatever you fancy. Just in case you think I'm making this stuff up – here's what it looks like, with prawns in the rendang sauce :

Buonissimo!

Coming up … “The perfect tomato sauce” ...

Odds and ends – arancini

Some of us make a risotto deliberately to turn into another dish – for arancini, aka rice balls – sounds a little odd I grant you but traditionally arancini was created to use up leftover risotto. It turns out that the arancini is equally as good as the risotto.

Here's a photo-guide, to illustrate how easy it is

Take three trays (I used foil) – measuring 23x23cms :

50g plain flour – tray 1

3 large eggs, beaten – tray 2

150g Panko crumbs – blitzed in a food processor – tray 3

You can use ordinary breadcrumbs if you can't get Panko

You'll need vegetable oil for shallow frying

Using damp hands, mould each square into a ball – make 3 at a time – place in the flour tray and jiggle, let the tray do the work. Repeat in the beaten egg and finally in the crumb. Jiggle is my own term, descriptive I think - the actual technical term is pané – meaning “breaded”. If you want to be really cheffy you can repeat the egg and crumb - “double pané” for extra crunch.

Place the arancini in the fridge for 20 minutes – use a large frying pan and cover the base in oil, heat gently – test to see it has reached temperature by dropping, gently, a small cube of bread into the oil – it should sizzle. Fry four or five at a time so you can easily turn the arancini and ensure you get an even golden brown colour – about 3-4 minutes. Set aside on a baking tray and keep warm in a pre-heated oven – 150fan/170c/Gas 3.

You don't have to make all 18 arancini – you can make 9 and freeze the remaining half of the risotto, leave in the tray, fold over and wrap tightly in foil.

Next … a couple of extra ideas

Taking it up a notch ...

... you can stuff your arancini with pancetta, basil and mozzarella, sun dried tomato or mushroom to name but a few. However, my favourite stuffing and another serving idea uses taleggio cheese – another Italian cheese which melts very well and so perfect for these beauties. It's not stringy like mozzarella, it melts and oozes – yum!

Here's the stuffing method which will give you 9 arancini – this stuffed alternative is perfect for a starter, albeit generous, served drizzled with Balsamic glaze and a side salad or with redcurrant jelly and a raw slaw – that's an impressive lunch box!

*You'll need a tray bake, measuring 31cms(12”)x 18cms(7¼”) as a guide.

Tip your cooked risotto into the tray, making sure it's flat and even, then cool, cover and fridge. You can leave for a couple of hours or overnight – whichever is more convenient to your schedule! You'll use half the tray of risotto – reserving the other half to freeze.

With the tray bake lengthways in front of you cut the risotto in half. Each half tray (6” or 15.5cms) gives you 9 arancini weighing 80/90gms, again as a guide. Using one half divide into 9 **squares – 2½” (6.5cms) 5”(13cms) and 7½” (19cms) and set aside. I used a good old fashioned school ruler – works a treat.

Prepping this way will give you pretty much similar sized arancini but don't stress!

In addition to the basic risotto you'll need 200g taleggio cheese,

rind removed and divided into 9 cubes,

Use exactly the same method as given previously - when

you've shaped the rice into a ball use your index finger

to create a hole - place a piece of taleggio inside

and close up the ball then complete by jiggling in

the flour, egg and finally breadcrumbs

Shallow fry in oil.

The stuffed arancini freezes well too – defrost thoroughly and warm through in a pre-heated oven 160 fan/180c/Gas 4 for 15 minutes.

Interested? There's a photo-guide coming up in Odds and ends … !

Sensational Arancini!

This recipe comes from one you'll know – rice balls made from risotto. It's the perfect solution in that you can make whatever size you like, to suit the occasion!

Here we have :

Arancini

For arancini, aka rice balls, you'll need a basic risotto recipe :

1 litre vegetable or chicken stock

40g unsalted butter

1 tbsp groundnut oil

2 small onions, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves (or 3 tsps paste)

350g risotto rice

150ml dry white wine

2 tbsps flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

100g Parmesan cheese, grated

salt and black pepper

Bring the stock to a boil and simmer gently. Heat the butter and the oil in a pan and fry the onions and garlic until soft. Season with salt. Stir in the rice and fry for 2 minutes until the edges become opaque. Add the wine. Start adding the stock, a ladle at a time – the liquid should be absorbed before you add the next. Add the parsley, black pepper and the Parmesan cheese.

It's imperative that your stock is kept hot and added a ladle at a time. If you follow these basic principles you'll be fine.

Tip your risotto into a tray bake, cover and cool, then fridge. You can leave for a couple of hours or overnight – whatever suits you best. The tray measures 12” or 31cms - with the tray bake lengthways in front of you cut the risotto in half. Each half tray ( 6” or 15.5cms) gives you 9 arancini weighing approximately 80/90gm approximately. Using one half divide into 9 squares – 2½” (6.5cms) 5” (13cms) and 7½” (19cms) and set aside. I used a good old fashioned school ruler – works a treat. You can continue and make another 9 or freeze the remaining risotto as it is.

Prepping this way will give you pretty much similar sized arancini but don't lose sleep over it!

You might think there appears to be a lot of work, but the recipe is simplicity itself and it can be made in stages, whenever you have time.

Coming up … taking it up a notch!

Fruit and Nut anyone?

These two recipes lend a certain something to sharing plates, they are perfect “pop in the mouth” nibbles!

Fruit and Nut sides

Dates wrapped in Parma ham

Makes 20

1 tsp vegetable oil for greasing

20 dried dates – pitted

20 small cubes of parmesan or other hard cheese

10 slices of Palma ham, halved

Pre-heat oven 170fan/190c/Gas 5.

Lightly grease a baking tray large enough to fit all the dates.

Place a cube of cheese in each date and wrap in a half slice of Parma ham. If you need to you can secure each date with a wooden cocktail stick. Lay the dates on the tray and bake for 10 minutes or until the ham crisps up.

Serve hot.

I've served these to guests who do not like dates and have converted – the combination of flavours is perfect – sweetness of dates, saltiness of ham and zing of cheese.

Spiced almonds

Serves 4-6

1 tsp olive oil

200g blanched almonds

coarse sea salt

¼ tsp smoked paprika

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the almonds and toss over the heat for 5 minutes until golden.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the nuts to a bowl, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible. Sprinkle the nuts generously with coarse sea salt and the paprika, toss the nuts to coat them in the seasoning. Leave to cool then transfer to a serving dish.

Another great “make ahead” side and definitely in the “keep it simple” category.

Now for one of my absolute favourites ...