Sicilian Arancine
- 4 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 pinch Saffron
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 1/4 cups Onion, Finely Diced
- 2 cups Arborio Rice
- 2 Tablespoons Grated Parmesan Cheese Or A Cheese Rind
- 3 whole Egg Whites
- 2 cups Fresh Bread Crumbs
- 1 cup Meat Sauce Or Ragu, Approximately
- 1 whole Egg, Beaten
- 3 cups Vegetable Oil, For Frying, Approximately
- Make the risotto:
- Heat the broth, add the saffron to it and keep it warm in a pot next to the pot in which you want to make your risotto.
- In a medium size heavy pot, heat the olive oil and butter.
- Saute the onion with a pinch of salt gently for a few minutes.
- Do not let it brown.
- Add the rice, raise the heat a little and toast the rice for a couple of minutes.
- Add a couple of ladlefuls of broth and stir the risotto.
- Add the cheese rind.
- Lower the heat a little; you do not want the mixture to boil, but just to simmer gently.
- When the rice has absorbed the broth, add two more ladlefuls.
- You can tell when to add the broth by running your spoon through the mixture.
- If the liquid immediately fills in the crevice you make, let it cook some more.
- If it remains clear, it is time to add more broth (see photo in the related blog post for an example).
- Keep adding broth and stirring, repeating until rice is tender, about 25 minutes.
- You may not use all the broth.
- If you dont have enough broth, continue with plain water.
- If you dont have a cheese rind, at this point add the grated cheese and mix.
- Pour the risotto onto a baking sheet and let cool.
- You can refrigerate it to let it cool.
- Line a baking tray with a sheet of parchment or waxed paper.
- Place the egg whites in a small bowl and beat a little with a fork.
- Place the bread crumbs in a small bowl.
- Place the meat sauce into a small bowl.
- Scrape the cooled risotto into a bowl and add the whole beaten egg.
- Mound some risotto into your hand using a quantity a little smaller than the size you want the finished arancine.
- With a spoon or your hand, make an indentation in the risotto.
- Place about a tablespoon of meat sauce in the indentation, add some risotto over the top and gently mold the whole thing into a ball.
- Place the arancine onto the waxed paper.
- After they are all done, place them in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
- Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
- Heat about 4 inches of oil in a small pot or use a fryer if you have one.
- When the oil becomes hot enough to fry, lower the arancine one at a time into the oil with a handled strainer.
- Let fry for a few minutes, checking the color so they do not burn and gently rotating them with the strainer.
- When they are golden brown, remove with the strainer and place on paper towels to drain.
- Arancine can be made ahead of time and kept refrigerated for a couple of days.
- They can also be frozen.
- Just heat them up gently in the oven.
chicken broth, saffron, olive oil, butter, onion, rice, parmesan cheese, egg whites, bread crumbs, meat sauce, egg, vegetable oil
Taken from tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/sicilian-arancine/ (may not work)