One my friend asked me what the arancini are. An easy definition could be: they are balls of rice with a heart of cheese, meat sauce and peas. This is the simplest explanation I can give but the arancino is truly a symbol of Sicily, the land of a thousand resources. The arancino has even had a place in the Italian literature in the famous novels of Andrea Camilleri and his ever-present detective Montalbano- the character became famous in the Italian culture thanks to the novels and the series dedicated to him on Rai - our national TV-. The arancini can taste all over in Italy: I have eaten the best arancini obviously in Sicily then in Calabria made by the skillful hands of an old lady we call grandmother Maria and in Naples. Cooking the arancini requires care and love. I can give you my interpretation of the recipe of arancini, simplified for those who, like me, try to eat well and survive in the kitchen.It will not be the recipe made by grandmother Maria, whose arancini have 90 years of experience (she is a part of our history!) But in any case they are tasty and -as always- if I can cook them, all the world can do it. Guaranteed by a mere mortal as me!
What you need 300 grams of rice 1 liter of water 180 g tomatoes (peeled and chopped) 80 grams of butter 30 grams of grated parmesan cheese 2 eggs, beaten 1 onion (finely chopped) 60 g of minced ham 125 grams of minced meat (beef) 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce 50 g of peas 100 g mozzarella cheese (cut into small cubes) Breadcrumbs Oil for frying Salt and pepper WHAT TO DO Boil the rice for about 14 minutes and drain it well Add the tomatoes and half the butter . Mix all well. Add grits and eggs, mix well Warm up the remaining butter in a saucepan and add the onion. After three or four minutes, add the ham and the minced beef. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the peas that you have cooked with a bit of onion , water and wine in a separate pot. Add 4 tablespoons of water, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Cook these ingredients for 20 minutes on low heat. Make the rice balls. Put in the middle of the ball a bit of the meat sauce, you have just prepared and one and two cubes of mozzarella (depends on the size of the cube) Shape the balls with your hands. Dip the balls in the egg and in the bread crumbs. Fry in a pan with hot oil Wipe excess oil in a paper towel. Serve hot. The result is tasty. As I have tell you before this recipe is my free interpretation of arancini. If you want to try to cook arancini with this recipe you need about an hour.
The detective Montalbano in the Italian series
