Hulless oat arancini with rock crab and sea lettuce

Ingredients

• 240 g (½ lb) rock crab meat (generally sold frozen)
• 2 g (⅓ tsp) sea lettuce, dried (in powder, otherwise crush into flakes before adding)
• 50 ml (¼ cup) sunflower oil
• 100 ml (⅜ cup) white vermouth
• 240 g (½ lb) hulless oats (you can let them soak in water in the refrigerator the night before)
• 1.25 l (5 cups) seafood or vegetable stock (depending what you have; ideally, salt-free)
• 60 g (⅛ lb) shallot (or onion), pealed and finely chopped
• 45 g (1 ½ oz.) grated Parmesan
• 100 ml (⅜ cup) heavy (ideally, cooking) cream (35%)

Preparation

For the hulless oat risotto

• Gently sweat the shallot in oil for a few minutes, then add hulless oats and deglaze with white vermouth.
• Let reduce almost completely, gradually add the stock of your choice, incorporating and letting reduce one cup at a time (approx. 60 minutes).
• After adding the final cup of stock, incorporate the crab meat and the sea lettuce.
• Once all the stock has been incorporated, add the Parmesan and cream and let reduce one last time.
• Season to taste; if stock is not “salt-free,” pay attention to how much salt you add to the risotto.
• Put in refrigerator to chill.
  

For the arancini

• Once the risotto has cooled, make small balls (approx. 20 g, or 0.75 oz.) and freeze.
• Once they are firm, bread them by successively coating in bowls of beaten egg, flour and breadcrumbs (ideally panko for more crunchiness).
• Put these balls back into the freezer, then repeat the steps a second time to obtain a thicker crust.
• To cook, fry the arancini in oil at 180°C (350°F) for a few minutes until golden brown and finish in the oven as needed.