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Arancini rice balls

⏱ 45 min🍳 20 min👤 3 pp★★★★☆

Italian cuisine has a very significant heritage thanks to the many regional gastronomic traditions, each of which contributes in its own way to the flavours, aromas and unique elements of Italian cookery. This recipe comes from a beautiful island region, Sicily, from where we introduce these arancini rice balls, always considered one of the great dishes of Sicilian cuisine, so much so that now it has spread virtually throughout the peninsula. It seems that this wonderful dish arrived in Sicily with the Arabs, those lovers of rice accompanied by meat, vegetables and saffron. The Sicilians made them their own, a truly unique specialty. Depending on where in the region you are, you can find the rice balls either in the shape of a cone or, in its best-known form, that of a ball. They are all fabulous; are you ready to impress your guests?

Ingredients

Nutritional values 420 kcal / serving
Protein
14g
Carbohydrates
48g
Fat
18g
Fiber
2g

* approximate values per serving

Information
45 minutes Total time
20 minutes Active time
Serves 3 persons
★★★★☆ Hard

Preparation

Prepare the Bolognese sauce according to your preferred method. Put the rice in a saucepan, just cover it with water, a little tomato passata, and some salt. Cook over low heat with the lid on for 12 minutes, then let it ‘rest’ off the heat for another 5 minutes, still with the lid on. While the rice is cooking, sauté in a pan some peas until ‘al dente’, and then add to the Bolognese sauce. When the rice has cooled down a bit, add the butter, 1 egg and 1 egg yolk, Pecorino cheese and saffron. Now in your palm make a bed of rice, put a teaspoon of meat sauce in the middle with a cube of mozzarella, then cover with another spoonful of rice. Shape it into a little ball and coat it in breadcrumbs. Once you have made all the balls, fry them in hot oil. Serve hot!

Tips
The original recipe for rice balls used ‘caciocavallo’ cheese; alternatively, however, you could use provolone cheese instead of mozzarella.
Trivia
Arancini rice balls, made famous by their representation in a large number of works of art, are a specialty that belongs to the Sicilian culinary tradition.

Step by step

Rice
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Additional information

Sicilian Rice Arancini

Sicilian rice arancini are among the most beloved street foods in the world. In Sicily, they are a true institution: anyone who has never been to Sicily but has had the chance to follow the TV series featuring Inspector Montalbano will surely have been intrigued to see the inspector go crazy over a tray of arancini. However, the recipe is not unique, and in fact, there are countless variations throughout Sicily. Gastronomy experts have counted about 30. In the following paragraphs, we will illustrate some variations of Sicilian rice arancini and some of their characteristics.

Baked Rice Arancini or Air Fryer Rice Arancini

Let’s start by saying that rice arancini are a classic fried street food. However, not everyone loves frying, as it leaves traces in the house for several hours. And there are also those who avoid frying for dietary reasons. Thus, there is a recipe for baked rice arancini. This is equally tasty, although, to be fair, fried is always fried! To prepare baked rice arancini, follow the classic recipe or your favorite recipe, bread them as if you were going to fry, and then place the arancini on parchment paper. To simulate frying using the oven, you will need to use the convection mode. Similarly, if you have an air fryer, you can easily proceed to fry inside your favorite appliance.

Bimby Rice Arancini

Another kitchen appliance that can be very useful in preparing rice arancini is the Bimby. With the Bimby, you can both boil the rice (we recommend using Carnaroli) and prepare an excellent meat ragù. Naturally, for cooking, you will then have to rely on traditional methods, frying in plenty of oil in a deep pot.

Palermitan Rice Arancini

Sicilian arancini are prepared and consumed all year round, but there is one day when they really fly off the shelves, and that is Santa Lucia's day, December 13th. Palermitan rice arancini are very tasty and require the preparation of a ragù made from finely chopped veal with the addition of peas and caciocavallo cheese. The ragù should not be made with tomato puree, but rather with tomato paste. The rice, on the other hand, remains white. The caciocavallo is added to the ragù at the end of cooking and mixed well so that it melts.

White Rice Arancini

Another interesting variation is that of white rice arancini. Thus, no ragù is prepared, but the arancini are filled with ham, provola, mozzarella, or other melting cheeses. They are very similar to supplì. Unlike traditional Palermitan arancini, which require a certain selection of ingredients, white rice arancini are somewhat "fridge-emptying" recipes where you can choose to add cold cuts or cheeses to your liking, taking them from the fridge without having to buy them specifically. If the recipe for arancini intrigues you but you don’t have all the necessary ingredients on hand, you can easily resort to the recipe for rice arancini without meat. You will see that the ham and mozzarella rice arancini will also be a hit and will please the whole family.

Pistachio Rice Arancini

As you all know, Sicily is famous for its pistachios; it is no coincidence that the town of Bronte, from which the famous pistachio that bears its name comes, is located in the province of Catania. Pistachio is the star of countless Sicilian recipes, and arancini are no exception to this "contamination." Catanese arancini are often devoid of the classic ragù with peas that populates the collective imagination and instead feature a particularly delicious combination of pistachio paste, mortadella, and a creamy cheese (stracchino or other). The result is definitely delicious.