Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Arancini

I risk the ire of Sicilians by calling the following Arancini but it's a word people can relate to and understand immediately that you are talking about a fried rice ball.

Rather than making balls I've made cylinders since I'm not going to be adding something to their centre. I've used left-over risotto for the base and if you need an excuse as to why you should always make more risotto than you intend to eat, then this is it.

arancini© by Haalo



(kinda, sorta) Arancini

left-over risotto, cold from the fridge
egg, lightly beaten
fine bread crumbs
finely grated parmesan, optional


If you've made your risotto correctly, once cold it will have set into a thick, sticky mass. There's no need to add anything to the risotto, all you need to do is portion and shape it. I've used a large ice cream scoop to even out the portion sizes and then, using damp hands, shaped the risotto to form firm cylinders. If you like to be traditional, then form them into balls.

The crumbing:

Set out two bowls - one with a lightly beaten egg and then other with fine breadcrumbs.

If you are going to be baking these rather than deep frying, then add finely grated parmesan to the breadcrumbs. This will help form a better crust when baked.

Dip the cylinders into the egg, drain off the excess and then roll it around the breadcrumbs. Once all the cylinders have been done, repeat the process. Double crumbing creates a more resilient crust.

You can now store these in the fridge until you're ready to cook them.

arancini© by Haalo


Cooking the Arancini:

If you want to bake these:

Place a little oil and a knob of butter in a skillet over a medium heat, when the butter has melted and is starting to sizzle add in the arancini. Roll them gently to brown all sides and then place them on a baking tray - bake at 140°C until warmed through and crisp.

For deep-frying:

I use the same method for all deep frying - small saucepan filled with just enough oil to cover the object I'm deep frying. You'll need to have the oil a little cooler than normal as the heat needs to travel to the center of these cylinders. The oil needs to be hot enough to sizzle when the object is placed into it but not immediately brown.

Cook a few at a time and place on paper towels to remove any excess oil.

arancini© by Haalo


These can be served either hot or warm.

12 comments

  1. Looks delicious! Didn't know you can make such beautiful rolls with rice. Great for parties.

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  2. Ooh, deliciously evil, habit-forming food. I'd be making extra risotto ALL THE TIME. YUM. Definitely a party finger food.

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  3. I could definitely pop few of these in my mouth without much effort....Wow, it looks so tempting!!

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  4. You can call it what you like. I would just call it delicious!

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  5. Looks really really good!

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  6. Thankyou! I am making risotto this weekend and this will come in handy :)

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  7. If you're worried about semantics, you could always call them rice croquettes? ;)

    Either way, I love doing that to leftover risotto...!

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  8. Making these this weekend.........cause I'll be making risotto!!!!!! Absolute beauties!

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  9. Great way to use extra risotto. I make something similar but I'd never thought of making it with risotto. Thanks for the tip.

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  10. Those look delicious - I've always heard about making these with leftover risotto but I've never tried it - I think these have just inspired me to give it a shot.

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  11. Thanks Mary - it's a perfect dish for a party.

    Thanks Tanita - they are very hard to resist.

    Thanks Nina!

    Very true Ed!

    Thanks Przepisy!

    Thanks Penny!

    Thanks Baron - yes, croquettes

    Thanks KB!

    Thanks CP

    Thanks Elizabeth - hope you have fun making these

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  12. Great idea for packed lunches since they'll be great cold (and my kid would even eat it!).

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