Sicilian rice balls, stuffed with meat sauce, breaded, and fried until golden: Sicilian street food at its finest, and an excelent party food too. As an additional plus, this filling cooks more quickly than that of the traditional recipe (link below). To make enough for 4 you'll need:
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups rice
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup grated Parmigiano (freshly grated, not from a can)
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 pound veal, minced
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce
- A small onion
- Oil for frying
- Bread crumbs
- Flour
- Salt & Pepper to taste.
- Organically grown orange leaves (optional, as garnish)
Preparation:
Mince the onion and sauté it until it begins to gild in 2 tablespoons of the butter. Stir in the ground meat, let it brown for a couple of minutes, then stir in the tomato sauce and bit of hot water. Season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer for about 20 minutes; when it's done it should be neither very thick nor runny.
In the meantime boil the rice in lightly salted water, drain it, and stir in the remaining butter and grated cheese. Lightly beat two of the eggs and stir them in too.
Once the rice mixture has cooled and everything is ready, lightly beat the remaining eggs and season them with salt and pepper. Then, preheat your oven to 350 F (180 C). Next, make the first arancino by taking two small handfuls of rice and shaping them into hollow hemispheres Fill the hollows with some of the meat, and some of the peas, and mold the two halves together to obtain a smooth-sided rice ball about the size of a small orange (1.5 - 2 inches in diameter). Roll the arancino in flour, dredge it in the beaten egg, roll it well in the breadcrumbs, and fry it in abundant hot oil.
While it's cooking begin with the next, and when it has become a golden brown drain it on absorbent paper. When you have finished frying your arancini, heat them through in the oven for five minutes, decorate them with the orange leaves if you choose to, and serve them hot.
Yield: 4 servings arancini with ragu.
In the meantime boil the rice in lightly salted water, drain it, and stir in the remaining butter and grated cheese. Lightly beat two of the eggs and stir them in too.
Once the rice mixture has cooled and everything is ready, lightly beat the remaining eggs and season them with salt and pepper. Then, preheat your oven to 350 F (180 C). Next, make the first arancino by taking two small handfuls of rice and shaping them into hollow hemispheres Fill the hollows with some of the meat, and some of the peas, and mold the two halves together to obtain a smooth-sided rice ball about the size of a small orange (1.5 - 2 inches in diameter). Roll the arancino in flour, dredge it in the beaten egg, roll it well in the breadcrumbs, and fry it in abundant hot oil.
While it's cooking begin with the next, and when it has become a golden brown drain it on absorbent paper. When you have finished frying your arancini, heat them through in the oven for five minutes, decorate them with the orange leaves if you choose to, and serve them hot.
Yield: 4 servings arancini with ragu.
