Brief History of the Arancini

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Arancini translates into “little oranges.” The arancini I grew up with were gigantic softball sized balls of rice and filling that could be a whole meal in themselves, although they never were. Their origin goes back to when Sicily was under Arab rule in the 10th century, and traders devised a way to transport meals consisting of rice and meat long distances on horseback. Today, they are one of the highlights of Palermo’s street food scene and not terribly difficult to make yourself. What you fill it with is up to your imagination but here we’ll do something classic.

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INGREDIENTS

  • Starchy short white rice or risotto

  • Parmesan cheese grated

  • Butter

  • Saffron

  • Plain bread crumbs

  • 2 cups of flour

  • Canola or corn oil

  • Salt

  • Pepper

  • 1 can tomato paste (6oz)

  • Frozen peas (1 lb)

  • 2 lbs ground beef

  • 1 Yellow onion

  • Garlic (diced)

  • Sharp provolone, cubed

RECIPE

Cook rice according to directions with the addition of one stick of butter and a few pinches of saffron. Stir constantly on a low flame. Cube the provolone. Once cooked, put rice in a large aluminum tray and sprinkle with grated cheese, and add more salt and pepper if needed. Mix well. While rice is cooling you can make the filling.

For the filling, saute onion and 2-3 cloves of garlic in olive oil. Add ground beef, salt, pepper to taste. Cook thoroughly and add can of tomato paste. Mix well and add frozen peas. The mixture should be somewhat dry. Drain off any excess liquid and put in bowl to cool off.

Set your deep fryer to 350 F. Slowly mix two cups of flour with warm water to make a paste the consistency of pancake batter. This is the glue for the breadcrumb coating. Put the breadcrumbs in a tray and set aside. Now you’ll begin forming your balls. Scoop some rice in your palm and shape it like a bowl. Add a large spoonful of the filling, and 4-5 pieces of cubed provolone. Carefully work another small scoop of rice on top of filling and shape into a ball.

To apply the glue it’s best to use your hands. Take a palm full of the glue and rub it around the riceball. Roll the rice ball in the breadcrumbs and continue to press firm to form into a nice smooth compact ball. Set the rice balls in a tray as the deep fryer heats up.

Once the fryer reaches temperature it’s time to fry. Rice balls should be almost completely submerged in the hot oil. Cook until golden brown, turning once or twice to get an even color.

Transfer the cooked rice ball to a sheet of brown paper to absorb oil and let dry before serving. Enjoy biting into the crunchy exterior and sinking your teeth into their creamy center. It doesn’t get much better.