Arancini - Stefano Faita (2024)

Risotto is always better the next day, even if in our house there's rarely any left over! Whenever I do have leftovers, I use it to make arancini. These fried rice balls are perfect as appetizers. This version is with a meat sauce but you can also make them plain or stuffed with cheese.

Pro tip: arancini can be frozen before or after being fried. If you freeze them before, just fry them like you normally would and finish cooking them in the oven at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes. If you freeze them after frying, then you will need to reheat them in the oven at 350°F for 20 minutes — no need to thaw them beforehand.

Ingredients

Preparation

Filling

1. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion, celery, and carrot until translucent. Add the meat sauce and season with salt and white pepper to taste.
2. Once the mixture begins to simmer, reduce the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes. Add the peas. Let the filling cool in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Rice

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized frying pan over medium heat. Add the rice and stir until evenly coated.
2. Add half of the chicken broth, stirring continually. Once absorbed, gradually add more, still stirring continually. Once all the broth has been absorbed, add the Parmesan and pepper. The rice should be tender, but still al dente.
3. Spread the rice onto a baking sheet and place in the refrigerator to chill, at least 2 hours. You should be able to form a ball with the rice once cooled properly.

Assembly

1. In a small bowl, combine the warm water, flour, salt, and pepper.
2. Take a handful of cooled rice and cup it to form a ball with an indentation in the middle. Add about 1 tbsp of the cooled meat filling and 1 mozzarella cube in the indentation. Take another small handful of rice and finish forming the rice ball. When all rice balls are formed, dip each into the warm water and flour mixture. Once evenly coated, roll them in the plain breadcrumbs.
3. Fry arancini in a deep fryer over medium to high heat, until golden brown. Arrange on a platter and serve.