Arancini di riso
Why I Love This Recipe
These "rice balls" are typical Sicilian dish, that varies from town to town - they can be round, oval or pear shaped, filled with ragù, prosciutto, only cheese, cheese and prosciutto, etc.
Ingredients You'll Need
400 g rice
1 package of saffron
4 eggs
40 g grated pecorino
250 g ground beef
4 tblspoons flour
4 tblspoons breadcrumbs
100 ml white wine
70 g peas
80 g tomato paste
1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 cellery stalk
100 g caciocavallo cheese (can be substited with provolone, mozzarella or soft pecorino)
sage
olive oil
salt, pepper
Directions
For ragù:
Cook peas in a saucepan with 1tblsp of oil and 2 tblsp water for 10 minutes.
Chop finely onion, carrot and celery and sautè for a few minutes with 3 tblspoons of olive oil and 3 sage leaves.
Add the meat and stir fry, then add the wine and let it evaporate.
In the end, add peas and tomato paste. Add salt and pepper to your taste
and cook for about 40 minutes.
In the meantime, boil rice until al dente.
Drain and place in a bowl.
Dissolve the saffron in 2 beaten eggs and add to the rice. Add pecorino as well, mix and let it cool.
Cook peas in a saucepan with 1tbls of oil and 2 tblsp water for 10 minutes.
Take a spoonful of rice and form a ball. Make a hole in the ball and put a tablespoon of ragù and a piece of cheese inside. Close with some more rice, forming a ball again. It helps if you wet your hands with water when doing this, as it can get real sticky.
Dust the balls with flour, dip in the beaten egg and then coat with breadcrumbs.
Deepfry in boiling oil until golden, place them on several layers of kitchen paper. Serve warm.
