Arancini
Sicilian rice balls whose name means "little oranges", after their colour and shape. The whole difficulty comes down to one thing: the rice must be completely cold, ideally from the day before. Warm, it will not hold a ball and falls apart in the oil. The second rule concerns the filling: the ragù must be thick and dry, because runny sauce softens the rice from inside and, in the hot oil, turns to steam that can burst the ball.
Your own work in that: 30 min.
- Saffron rice 25 min
- Chilling the rice 120 min
- Ragù 45 min
- Shaping 30 min
- Frying 25 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneCook the rice dry, not like risotto
Bring the stock to a boil with the saffron, add the rice and cook 18 minutes covered, until all the liquid is absorbed, over a very low heat. Add salt if the stock is not very salty. This is not risotto — do not add stock gradually or stir constantly, because the rice must stay firm rather than creamy.
Ingredients: 500 g arborio rice · 1200 ml stock · 1 pinch saffron · 50 g butter · 80 g parmesan · 2 pcs eggs · 1 tsp salt
Stir in butter, parmesan and eggs
Stir the butter and parmesan into the hot rice, cool it to lukewarm and only then add the beaten eggs. In hot rice the eggs would set into threads; lukewarm lets them bind the mixture.
Ingredients: 500 g arborio rice · 1200 ml stock · 1 pinch saffron · 50 g butter · 80 g parmesan · 2 pcs eggs · 1 tsp salt
Spread the rice and chill two hours
Spread the rice in a thin layer on a tray and chill 2 hours, ideally overnight. Cold rice is firm and moulds in the hand; warm rice falls apart as you shape it and disintegrates in the oil.
Ingredients: 500 g arborio rice · 1200 ml stock · 1 pinch saffron · 50 g butter · 80 g parmesan · 2 pcs eggs · 1 tsp salt
A thin layer on a tray — it cools much faster.Cook a thick ragù
Fry the finely chopped onion and carrot in the olive oil for about 8 minutes. Add the meat and fry, breaking up the lumps, until it loses its raw colour, then stir in the tomato paste, pour in the wine, season with salt and pepper and simmer covered for 35 minutes, adding a spoonful of water whenever it starts to catch. Add the peas for the last 5 minutes and cook off the liquid uncovered. The ragù must be dry — a spoonful leaves no sauce on the plate. Let it cool completely before shaping.
Ingredients: 300 g minced beef · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs carrot · 2 tbsp tomato paste · 100 ml red wine · 150 g peas · 3 tbsp olive oil · 150 g mozzarella · ½ tsp salt · 1 pinch black pepper
Shape the balls in your hand
Take a heaped handful of rice and press a hollow into it in your palm, add a teaspoon of ragù and a cube of mozzarella, close it with rice and shape an orange-sized ball. Keep your hands wet — the rice sticks to everything.
Ingredients: 500 g arborio rice · 1200 ml stock · 1 pinch saffron · 50 g butter · 80 g parmesan · 2 pcs eggs · 1 tsp salt
A cup in the palm, filling inside, closed with rice.Coat in batter, not egg
Whisk the flour with the water into a thin crepe batter, dip the balls in it and roll in breadcrumbs. Sicilians use batter rather than egg — it gives a thinner, crisper shell and holds the crumbs better.
Ingredients: 100 g plain flour · 150 ml water · 250 g breadcrumbs · 1000 ml oil
Fry at 175°C
Heat the oil in a narrow, deep pan and fry three balls at a time for 5 minutes, turning, until deep golden — the four batches take about 25 minutes in all. Do not add more — the oil temperature drops, the balls absorb fat and the coating softens instead of browning. Cut the first ball open: if the centre is only lukewarm, heat them all through for 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 180°C.
Ingredients: 100 g plain flour · 150 ml water · 250 g breadcrumbs · 1000 ml oil
Three at a time — more drops the oil temperature.Drain and wait five minutes
Drain on a rack rather than paper — on paper the base steams and softens. Wait 5 minutes before eating: the filling is very hot and can scald if served immediately.
Ingredients: 100 g plain flour · 150 ml water · 250 g breadcrumbs · 1000 ml oil
Before you start
Arancini or arancine
Eastern Sicily says arancini and shapes cones; the west says arancine and shapes balls. The naming dispute is taken quite seriously there. Balls are easier for beginners — a cone topples over in the pan.
Fillings beyond ragù
Classic variants: al burro (ham, mozzarella and béchamel), spinach and ricotta, aubergine alla norma. The rule stays the same — the filling must be thick and chilled before shaping.
Freezing works beautifully
Shaped and coated, unfried arancini freeze on a tray. Fry from frozen at 165°C for 8 minutes — the lower temperature gives the centre time before the coating darkens too far — then finish for 15 minutes in the oven at 180°C so the filling is hot right through.
