Arancino 2.0 – ‘Yarn balls’ stuffed with rice, buffalo mozzarella, tomato and basil

To begin, make the dough for the needles. You will only need 50g of the final dough, but you can use any remaining dough to make delicious dinner rolls or a mini sfincione

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the flours, then the salt and oil. Knead well and let rise for 1 hour at 30°C. Weigh out 50g of dough

Preheat the oven to 130°C/gas mark 1

Blend the 100g dough with the remaining ingredients and shape into needle shapes on a silicone making mat. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove and set aside to cool. Once cool, store in an airtight container until ready to serve

To make the tomato sauce, lightly fry the garlic and basil sprig in a dash of oil. Add the tomato pulp, and season with the salt and sugar

Stir well, allowing the flavours to infuse and the tomatoes to heat through, then remove the basil sprig and transfer the sauce to a blender. Blitz until very smooth, then set aside

To make the aubergine purée, fry the aubergine flesh in a large dash of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt, until cooked through and golden. Add to a blender with the basil and Parmesan and blitz to a smooth purée. Pass through a fine sieve for a silky-smooth finish, then transfer to a small piping bag

To make the pesto filling, pick and wash the basil leaves, then pat dry. Place in a food processor with the remaining ingredients and blitz to a smooth paste

Weigh out 80g of the pesto, blend with the mozzarella until smooth then transfer to a piping bag. Keep the remaining pesto in the fridge until ready to serve

For the rice balls, lightly toast the rice in a dry pan then add a ladleful of the vegetable stock. Stir well, and once the stock has been absorbed, add another ladleful. Repeat this process until all of the stock has been absorbed. Beat in the butter, Parmesan, mozzarella liquid and lemon zest until the rice is creamy. Set aside for approximately 20 minutes until cool enough to handle

Form the rice into balls with your hands, creating a well in the middle for the filling. Pipe in the pesto and mozzarella mix, then enclose entirely with the rice until you have 8 neat balls. Set aside

To make the ‘yarn’, cook the rice in the mozzarella liquid and water until very well-cooked, then add to a food processor and process to create a smooth paste. Add to a piping bag fitted with a fine nozzle and pipe lines of 'yarn' onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper

Dry out in the oven at 80°C for 10 minutes

Remove the yarn and increase the oven temperature to 140°C/gas mark 1

Form nests of the yarn around the rice balls and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, until the yarn is crunchy

To serve, drizzle the tomato sauce, reserved mozzarella liquid, pesto and a little extra virgin olive oil around the plates and add small dots of the aubergine purée. Place a yarn ball in the centre of each plate, with two 'needles' pushed into each one. Serve immediately