I made risotto a few nights ago for dinner and had some leftover. I wanted to try to make something different with the leftovers and decided to try these rice balls. I have never made these before, so I just started adding ingredients I thought would work together. We were all pleasantly pleased with how delicious they were. If you prefer less spice, keep the red peppers flakes out.

• 2 cups cooked cooled risotto
• ¾ cup grated Parmesan
• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• small bites of mozzarella cheese
• 1 1/4 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
• Oil, for frying
• Marinara sauce

Combine the rice, Parmesan, eggs, red pepper, ¾ cup breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning together in a bowl and mix evenly with your hands.

Begin scooping out small amounts of the rice mixture and forming them into balls. Once formed, make a hole in the middle and place a piece of the cheese in the middle, sealing the hole up with additional rice. Continue forming balls until all the rice mixture is used.

Place oil into a frying pan and allow for it to get hot. While the oil is heating up, begin rolling each of the rice balls in the remaining breadcrumbs, evenly coating each ball.

Begin placing the rice balls into the hot oil, until the coating is golden brown. With a slotted spoon remove rice balls from the pan and place them on a paper towel-lined plate. Transfer them to a baking sheet and place them in a warm oven to keep the rice balls warm while you cook the remaining rice balls.

Once they are cooked, serve them on top of marinara and enjoy!