Baked arancini (cheese stuffed risotto balls)

This is the perfect way to use up leftover risotto. When reheated, risotto is usually either soupy or a little slimy. Either way it is much worse than when it is fresh. Arancini uses the risotto to make something that is equally delicious to the original pot of risotto. Normally it is supposed to be fried but I baked these so I didn't have to smell oil in my house for days and days. As long as you use panko bread crumbs you should still be able to get a nice crunch from the oven. Mine turned out crunchy and crispy on the outside but unbelievably light on the inside.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups leftover, cold risotto
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, divided
1 egg, slightly beaten, divided
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cubes mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. In a small bowl, combine risotto, 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs, and approximately half of your beaten egg. Mix well and set aside. In a shallow dish combine 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, and olive oil and mix together. Take 1/4 cup risotto mixture, form it into a ball, push a cube of cheese into the center and fill the gap, roll in egg, then coat evenly in bread crumb mixture. Place ball on foil-lined baking sheet. Repeat until you've used all the risotto. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, turn and bake an extra 10 minutes. The balls will brown where they touch the pan, but if you want them to brown on all sides you could turn on the broiler and turn them in order to broil all sides. Let them cool for a few minutes and serve with tomato sauce.