Cook Your Own Quick Crispy Arancini – Italian style Rice Balls
Arancini – rice balls is a delicious Italian specialty. The name comes from the shape and colour of oranges but it has nothing to do with them. It is a prefect comfort food for autumn and winter or any time when you have some leftover risotto.
Various types of Arancini
There are many types of arancini. They can be made with all sorts of stuffing o plain ones with no stuffing at all. The plain rice balls are very quick and easy and can be made spontaneously on any day with no special ingredients or preparation. Especially, if you have some leftover risotto. Arancini is also a great trick with children who have no appetite or who tend to be fussy about their food. They absolutely love them!
Instructions
The best way to make arancini with the least effort is to make plenty of risotto for dinner. The leftover rice will be the base for your rice balls the next day. You will only need to mix it and add the ingredients below.
However, If you are making arancini from scratch, boil 1 cup of risotto rice in vegetable stock until soft and all the liquid is absorbed. Turn the heat off. Let it cool down a bit because you will be using your hands to make the balls.
The procedure
Add the following:
- Sweet 5 tablespoons of gruyere cheese, grated,
- Pungent a pinch of black pepper,
- Salty a pinch of salt,
- Sour a pinch of dried basil,
- Bitter a small pinch of turmeric.
Mix well. With damp hands form small balls, the size of walnuts or slightly bigger. Dip them in breadcrumbs and fry in vegetable oil for 2-3 minutes until golden.
A tip
Originally arancini the rice balls are deep fried in a big pot but for health reasons I try to reduce deep frying whenever I can. So, I just shallow fry them in a big frying pan, several at the same time to speed up the process. You just need to turn them over three or four times so that they are evenly cooked.
To serve
The Crispy Arancini are lovely just on their own or as pic nic food. They will also go perfectly with Curry Carrot Pate or Tomato, Bean and Garlic Soup.