Arancini – Easy To Make Great To Eat

Easy And Delicious

My wife and I recently visited the Quarters Restaurant on Florida Road. It was during the lunch service and I decided to try something I’d never eaten before: Arancini.

I’d never even heard of Arancini before, and I’m not one to try new things, but this sounded good. I’m a sucker for anything with tomato based sauces and this came with a healthy portion of the stuff.

If you’re wondering, Arancini is not a rare ingredient, unusual cut of meat or a dish requiring several delicate processes. It’s arborio rice formed into balls with a mozzarella center, dipped in egg wash and dredged through bread crumbs.

Once fried, it’s served in a bowl of marinara sauce. And it really is tasty. So tasty, in fact, my wife decided to try it at home.

How was it? In a word: Success!!

Sorry Quarters. My wife’s rendition was better than yours but that’s not unusual. She is the best cook I know. Very difficult to better her servings.

Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked arborio rice, cooled.
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
3 eggs
8 small cubes fresh mozzarella
1 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
Oil, for frying
1 cup of marinara sauce

Directions:

Place a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat and add enough vegetable oil to rise 4 inches in the pot.

Combine the rice, Parmesan and 1 egg in a medium bowl and use your hands to thoroughly combine the mixture.

Form each ball by taking a small portion of the mixture, squeezing it firmly and stuffing one cube of mozzarella inside each ball.

Whisk together the remaining 2 eggs. Roll each rice ball in the eggs and then in the breadcrumbs. We did this twice to make sure the balls stayed together.

Once the oil reaches 375ºF, add 2 or 3 of the breaded rice balls to the pot and fry them until golden brown and cooked throughout.

Remove from the pot and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Immediately salt and repeat the process until done.

Serve warm in a bowl of marinara sauce to half the depth of the rice balls.

Marinara Sauce:

My wife’s recipe is kept in her head.

• Saute 1 large chopped onion in 1/4 cup olive oil.
• When soft, but not brown, add 2 cans good chopped Italian tomatoes. whole canned tomatoes are acceptable.
• Add salt to taste.
• Add 1 tsp dried oregano and some chopped basil.
• Bring just to a boil and simmer for approximately 30 minutes.
• Puree and simmer 30 minutes longer.
• Adjust seasoning just before serving and add fresh basil.

Enjoy!