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The Most Amazing Thing To Happen To Risotto Ever!
Who doesn’t love risotto? Creamy, smooth and wonderfully flavorful. Arancini makes risotto the best treat on the antipasto plate! The love child of deep-frying and risotto is a traditional antipasti in Sicilian households and once you try this recipe you’ll know why! Melding the flavors of cheeses, great homemade pomodoro sauce, rice and prosciutto to the ultimate blend in one little treat, these will soon become a go to for your party trays. I’ve found that shorter grained rice yields the best rice ball. But you can use any risotto rice you like. (no uncle bens long grain, mind you). Give this one a try and let me know what you think!
Arancini
- Total Time: 54 minutes
- Yield: 20 balls 1x
Description
Traditionally, this dish was made with short grain rice, Arborio or Carnaroli, that’s been boiled in salted water with a little oil. If you have leftover risotto, you can use that instead of starting from scratch with the rice.
Ingredients
- One cup Sushi or Arborio rice
- Three large eggs
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 1/4 cup diced mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup diced prosciutto (about two ounces)
- Three tablespoons finely minced fresh parsley
- 1 cup fresh or frozen green peas
- Two cups fresh bread crumbs (toasted)
- 1/4 cup homemade Pomidoro (tomato sauce)
- Peanut oil for deepfrying
Instructions
- In a saucepan, bring 2 1/2 cups water and 1 tablespoon olive oil to a boil.
- Add the rice and cook for 12 minutes. (The rice should still be
- quite firm.)
- Drain well, spoon onto a clean cookie sheet and spread out, let sit til cool and transfer to a bowl.
- Lightly beat one of the eggs and add to the rice, along with the grated cheese, parsley, 2 tablespoons of the tomato sauce, and salt and pepper.
- Mix well.
- Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.
- In another bowl, mix the mozzarella cheese, prosciutto, and the remaining 2 tablespoons tomato sauce.
- Stir in green peas
- With floured hands, divide the rice mixture into 8 or 10 portions and roll each portion into a ball the size of a golf ball.
- Poke a hole into the center of each ball with your finger and insert about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mozzarella mixture.
- Reshape and smooth the balls to enclose the filling.
- In a shallow dish, beat the remaining 2 eggs.
- Spread the bread crumbs on a plate. Dip the balls into the eggs, turning to coat them well.
- Roll the balls in the bread crumbs to coat them evenly.
- Then let them dry on a plate for about 45 minutes.
- In a deep fryer or deep heavy pan, heat the peanut oil to 375F.
- Fry the balls until they are golden brown on all sides, about 4 mins.
- Drain them on brown paper and serve immediately, with lemon wedges.
Notes
Additional Pomidoro or Amatricana Sauce can be used for dipping.
Finely diced ham can be substituted for the prosciutto.
- Prep Time: 50 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: Italian