Arancini are a classic Sicilian fried treat and one of my favorite after school snacks. Yesterday, at the Scibetta’s country house I learned how to cook them. Very easy, fun to make, and delicious. I thought I would share the recipe for all you at home. I know I will be making them this summer a bunch. There are some different variations, including making them with spinach and ragu, but I really just like the simple classic prosciutto and mozzarella.
You will need:
-About 10 eggs
-Parmaggian cheese (grated)
-Mozzarella
-A box of rice
-Saffron
-Prosciutto
-Farina
-Grated bread (almost powdery)
First thing you do is cook the rice. While that is happening you chop the prosciutto into little bits, then fry them up, but not too much that it is like bacon. Prepare 5 plates: prosciutto, mozzarella (should be cut up into tiny cubes), grated bread, whipped eggs, and farina. When the rice is done you add the saffron until it all the rice is bright yellow. Dump the rice onto a cloth, and lay it out so it can dry out a bit. You want the rice to be able to be molded into a ball, so it should be pretty dry and sticky. When the rice is moldable, you make a small bowl of it in your hand, and in the concavity you put a little mozzarella and a little prosciutto. A good tip is to keep your hands wet while you do this, it makes the rice a lot easier to handle. Then take some more rice and complete the ball, packing it tight, and making sure that there are no holes or imperfections, because if there are they will come apart in the oil when you are frying them. Once the ball is complete, roll it first in the egg, then in the farina so it is totally covered, then again in the egg, then in the bread so it is powdery and completely covered, then put it into a pot of oil. They should be pretty much totally submerged, and you can eyeball when they are done. Should look nice and crispy. When they are done, put them on paper towels to dry them out, then enjoy. Be careful, they will be pretty hot. Keep making ‘em until the rice is used up. Enjoy!
Note: I have been asked type of oil: Vegetable Oil or Corn Oil works well. And Farina, that one I can only explain through this.
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2 comments:
ahhhhh i miss arancini!!!! thank you SO much for putting this up- i can't want to make them and get a taste of sicilia again :)
mmmmm, sounds great! I can imagine it's one of those things that 'you had to be there' applies -- you know, when you try to make them in Bedford, the cheese is different, the saffron is different, it's all different. Which means that you will really enjoy making pilgrimages to Sicily & Italy just to remind yourself of the glory of this first immersion. That's the influence of place on be-ing...
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