Cheesy Italian Arancini

During the spring of last year, I took my first trip to New York. Scott and I went to one of his favorite Italian restaurants, and I had for the very first time, Arancini. These fried risotto balls were crispy on the outside, had a creamy risotto interior, and oozy-gooey cheese in the middle. How have I never heard of these before? Are they an East Coast thing? Well, they’re surely an Italian thing, as Scott grew up eating these during the holidays (my family did not have this delicacy on the holidays for obvious reasons…being that we’re not Italian 😉 ).

This was my first time creating this dish. Traditionally they’re made with risotto (arborio rice that has been slowly cooked with ladles of broth, and finished with parmesan cheese). You can get real fancy with this, make saffron risotto, add white wine…. I skipped the step and went a little simpler. I just cooked the arborio rice on a stove top and used that (but by all means if you have left over risotto left over, go for it). You can also use sushi rice if you don’t have arborio. Both types of rice are short grain variety and are stickier than others (think stay away from jasmine, long grain white rice, etc).

Once you have your rice prepared, this recipe is easy enough. Mix everything in a large bowl, shape the balls, roll them in bread crumbs and stuff with cheese (or ground beef filling). Chill, and then deep fry. They are quite decadent so I see why they’re popular around the holidays.

Here’s what I learned about making arancini:

1. Make sure the rice is fully cooled. Cold even. Hot rice does not make balls….it makes it makes flat egg shaped ovals as the heat causing them to sink and fall flat on the baking sheet during the stamping process.
2. Make your rice ahead (even a day ahead), so you aren’t checking your rice every 5 minutes to see if it’s cool enough to handle.
3. Invite people over. This recipe yield a lot of servings (especially since a person can really only eat 1-2, they’re heavy).

Cheesy Italian Arancini

 

Save Print

Prep time

2 hours 30 mins

Cook time

4 mins

Total time

2 hours 34 mins

 

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 16

Ingredients

• 3 cups chicken broth
• Kosher salt
• 1 cup arborio rice
• ½ cup cubed fontina cheese
• ½ cup cubed mozzarella cheese
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1½ cups breadcrumbs
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Marinara sauce, for dipping

Instructions

1. In a medium sauce pan bring chicken broth and salt to boil and stir in the rice. Lower the heat to low and cover with a lid. Simmer on low for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Turn off heat and let rest for 10 minutes. Spread hot rice on a baking sheet to speed up cooling. Allow rice to be fully cooled before moving on to the next step.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add rice, eggs, parmesan cheese, parsley, and ½ cup of bread crumbs.
3. Place the remaining bread crumbs in a small bowl, set aside.
4. Shape the mixture to 1- 1½ inch balls. Press a piece of mozzarella and fontina into the center of each ball. Pinch the rice mixture around it to enclose the cheese.
5. Roll the balls in bread crumbs and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
6. Chill for at least 1 hour in the fridge (or over night).
7. In a saucepan, heat ½ inch of oil on medium heat to 350 degrees.
8. Fry the balls (making sure not to crowd the pan) until golden brown (about 4 mins).
9. Drain, salt, and serve with marinara sauce. Enjoy immediately.

3.5.3228