Super Bowl, (Slightly) Less Fried

About author / Amy Powell

World traveler; gourmet 30 minute meals; lover of exotic ingredients; winner on FoodTV's Chefs vs City; graduate French Culinary Institute. Her recipes will tantalize your taste buds.

Oh Super Bowl Sunday. Is there any other day quite like it? The spectacle…of junk food. The pageantry…of colorful snack chips. The pride…in dip. The battle… for best chicken wings. It is more than a day; it is an epic… of gluttony!

Even in my aversion to the typical bowl menu I cannot fully escape the embrace of a day as much centered on food as it is on watching men move a ball down field at painfully slow pace. I may eschew much of the sour cream, mayonnaise, and pounds of meat that form the foundation of many beloved Super Bowl spreads, but I can still have a little fun with my snacks and maybe just the right amount of fat.

I think about a lot of those favorite foods we pass around in front of the big game--chicken wings, jalapeno poppers, cheese sticks--everyone of those is pretty much guaranteed to have spent some serious time in a deep fryer. Fat is not the enemy here, but it might be possible to have some of the same flavors and textures of these fried foods without a full-on oil bath. Perhaps a crisp in a hot pan or turn under the broiler could yield similar tastes and textures but with less mess and without quite as high a calorie count.

A jalapeno popper, that hollowed out pepper stuffed with cheese and other goodness, is a great example. Finger friendly with enough of a kick to compliment a cold brew, this is a food made for football. But does it really need to be fully breaded and deep-fried? Not necessarily. A hallowed out pepper can easily be stuffed with cheese (and maybe some crumbled bacon), secured with a toothpick and run under a broiler until the skin is lightly charred and the cheese melted. Try one of those fancy barbecue gadgets that keeps the pepper upright and you can even add a bit of smoke to that jalapeno that no deep fryer could imbue.

One of my favorite fried indulgences is the Italian classic, arancini. Essentially a use for leftover risotto, this popular appetizer consists of balls of cooked rice formed around a stuffing of fontina or mozzarella, prosciutto, or even peas. The balls are then put through a classic breading of flour, egg, and breadcrumbs before hitting the deep fryer.

Recently I tried to get the same crispy texture and cheese goodness as a classic arancini without the fryer. Instead of balls, I formed the rice into round cakes. I dipped the cakes in egg and then pressed each into a plate of panko to coat on each side. I worked in batches, pan-frying the risotto cakes in a bit of oil. I transferred the cakes to a baking sheet and topped each with a slice of mozzarella before giving it a run under the broiler. Out of the oven and topped with some slivered sun-dried tomato it was all the crunchy, golden deliciousness of a deep fried ball but without the mess and a bit less fat.

If you are thinking of trying out my modified arancini for the Super Bowl, consider two other factors. One, you know what you are having for dinner the night before. Just make enough risotto so you have about two cups of leftovers. I used a sausage, Parmesan, and fennel combination that was a perfect match to the cheese topping. Two, you can make these ahead of time. Fry them up then reheat in the oven as you melt the cheese (use a slighter cooler oven than broil). It’s a little less time in the kitchen and a little more in front of the game.

Spending the bulk of a day watching football is in itself an indulgence. The food can be too. But being delicious and worthy of game day and beer does not require an oil bath. A little modification goes a long way to making game day a snack victory.

Serves/Makes: 16

• 2 cups leftover cooked risotto
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus additional
• 4 ounces mozzarella cheese
• 4 sun-dried tomato halves packed in oil