Rice balls

funny menu for you
difficulty: average
cooking: 60 mins
preparation: 60 mins
cost: low

The rice balls (or arancini), the pride of the Sicilian cuisine, are small timbales is suitable to be consumed as a snack or as an appetizer, main course or even a main dish. In Sicily you will find anywhere at any time, always warm and fragrant in many chip shops: from city to city often change shape and size, assuming features oval, pear-shaped or round, depending on the filling, which is often varied. You can find rice balls with meat sauce, ham, cheese, ricotta and spinach ... and so on!

Ingredients for about 15 arancini
Butter 30 gr
Pecorino cheese (Parmesan or Parmesan) cheese 100 gr
Rice (grain or round, for casseroles, pies, etc.) 500 gr
salt
3 egg yolks
Zafferano1 bag
For the filling ..
Butter 25 gr
Beef pork (or mixed), chopped 150 gr
Onions 1/2
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Q.b. ground pepper
peas
frozen or fresh shelled 80 grams
tomatoes
Double or triple concentrated 40 grams
salt
Smoked cheese (provolone)
fresh mozzarella cheese and diced 100 g
Red wine 100 ml
preparation
Boil the rice (1) in a little salted water (about 1.2 liters), so as to ensure that, in cooked, the water has been completely absorbed. In this way all the starch will remain in the pot and you get a very dry and sticky rice. Meanwhile, dissolve the saffron in a little water or beaten egg yolks in three (2) and add the mixture to the rice already cooked (3).Add the grated cheese and butter (4): stir well to mix everything, then poured and leveled rice on a large plate and let cool (5-6). Fry the finely chopped onion in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and butter (7), then add the ground meat (8); sauté over high heat, then add the wine (9) and then let it evaporate. Now add the tomato paste diluted in a glass of water (10), season with salt and pepper (11) and cook for 20 minutes over medium heat (12). Meanwhile, put the peas in a pan (13) and cook for 10 minutes with a tablespoon of oil and a ladle of water (if necessary add more water as needed). While the peas are cooked, cut the smoked cheese, cubed and mettetelia by (14). When the peas are cooked but still crisp, turn off the heat and add the sauce thickened and now rather asciutto.Con now cold rice (it will take at least a couple of hours), a thin layer formed by crushing the palm of the hand (16); holding the hand rather than collection, formed a hollow in the center where it will place a spoonful of sauce and peas (17), and two or three cubes of cheese, then close with another thin layer of rice (18). You can model the arancini form you choose: a ball or pear (19-20). Continue until all the ingredients well. Then go all the rice balls in beaten egg thus obtained (21), then pass them in the breadcrumbs (22-23) and finally fry in hot oil (180 °). To fry the rice balls, I recommend using a deep fryer or a pan rather small and high (24), so that the oranges are completely submerged in oil during frying. Dip the croquettes in hot oil Using a slotted spoon (25), and remove them from the oil when they are golden brown (26). Let the school finally arancini on a paper towel (27). Serve hot rice balls, or, if you prefer, even at room temperature.

advice
If you want, you can replace the cheese cut into cubes used for the filling of balls, with: fresh pecorino, provolone or mozzarella.

The arancini rice, which owes its name to the resemblance with the orange, is a typical product of Messina and Palermo, but it is very good, and prepared according to tradition, in Sicily.
According to some, the arancini would be born by the nuns in convents, and others within the rich baronial houses, but more practically, there are those who would derive them from the tradition of popular cuisine, where the remains were skillfully with imagination and recycled taste.

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