Homemade Rice Balls (Arancini) Are A Taste Of Italy
Serves 8 to 10
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Ingredients:
For the Filling:
2 Tbsp of Olive Oil
1 Small Onion, finely chopped
1 Clove of Garlic, minced
4 oz of Ground Beef
3/4 cups of Chopped Canned Tomatoes
1/4 cup of Frozen Peas
Salt and Pepper, to taste
2 oz of Dried Mozzarella, cut into small pieces
For the assembly:
4 Eggs
1 ½ cups of Flour
2 Cups of Bread Crumbs
Vegetable Oil, for deep frying
1 Batch of White Risotto (see recipe on Laura in the Kitchen) make sure it’s very cold
2 Egg Yolks
Process:
To make the filling:
1) Preheat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and add the beef, cook until the meat is pretty much fully cooked (if the beef gives out too much fat, drain most of it out)
2) Add the onions and garlic and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until the onions have cooked down.
3) Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 25 minutes, add the peas and cook for 5 more minutes.
4) Allow to cool completely.
5) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
6) In a large bowl, mix together the cold risotto with the egg yolks.
7) Using a small ice cream scoop, form out the rice balls, make an indent in the center and fill it with 1 Tbsp of the filling and one small piece of the mozzarella. Mold the rice balls around the filling (if its too sticky, wet your hands with a little water)
8) Place them on the parchment lined baking sheet. Pop them in the fridge for 10 minutes.
9) Beat the 4 eggs in a shallow bowl, also place the flour in shallow bowl and the bread crumbs in another.
10) Take the rice balls out of the fridge and one at a time, gently roll them into the flour, then the egg and finally the bread crumbs (make sure the rice balls are coated well with each layer).
11) Place the coasted rice balls on the same baking sheet and pop them in the fridge for about an hour to make sure they are nice and firm.
12) Fill a large pot or a deep fryer with about 3 inches of oil and heat up over medium heat to 375 degrees. **
13) Fry the rice balls in the hot oil for about 5 to 6 minutes, transfer them on a paper towel lined platter to drain the excess oil.
Serve immediately just as they are or add some of your favorite marinara sauce on the side and a couple of basil leaves if you have some handy.
**Note from Yummy Tummy Zone: Laura is using a candy/deep fry thermometer here to make sure oil is at correct temperature before she puts in the rice balls. Also, as she mentions, she only puts 4 rice balls in at a time to make sure the temperature doesn’t reduce from too many frying at once.
A big thanks to Laura Vitale for this delicious recipe. Click here for her white risotto recipe.
