These cheesy risotto balls are a tasty adaptation of the classic Italian arancini. They have a molten mozzarella centre, spicy tomato rice and a crispy outer layer. They work great as both a snack or a starter.
The name arancini literally means “little orange”, because they’re round and… sort of orange? Honestly, I think the person that came up with the name, might have been in need of a pair of glasses. Arancini don’t always look like a ball either. Because in Sicily, arancini come in a cone shape as well.
Sicily also happens to be the place where arancini are originally from. Sicilians have been making them as far back as the 10th century. Sicilian arancini are usually filled with ragù sauce, mozzarella cheese and peas. These arancini al ragù aren’t the only option though. Mushrooms, cheese, crab, curry or chocolate: pretty much anything goes when it comes to fillings these days.
With this recipe for arancini, I’ve kept things simple. With a centre of mozzarella and a layer of tomato rice, these risotto balls are great as a snack or starter.
Making arancini is a great way of using up leftover risotto rice. However I have to admit, that that is something we never have in out household. We tend to just eat all our risotto… But there’s no need to worry if you don’t have any left-overs either. You can also just cook some rice especially for this recipe. Just make sure you cook it in advance, so it has a chance to cool before you use it.
To cook the risotto, I used the same method as a used for our Easy Oven Risotto.
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balls
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- 200 g risotto rice I used arborio rice
- 500 ml vegetable stock
- 2 Tomatoes about 250g
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 red chilli optional
- 15 mini mozzarella balls
- 150 g flour
- 2 eggs
- 300 g bread crumbs
Ingredients
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- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Bring the vegetable stock to the boil.
- Finely slice the onion, garlic and chilli pepper. Cook them in a little bit of oil until the onion turns translucent.
- Add the rice to the pan as well. Fry until translucent, while stirring regularly.
- Finally, finely chop the tomatoes and add them to the rice, along with the basil and vegetable stock. Stir until everything is combined and put the lid on the pan.
- It's easiest to use a pan that can also be put in the oven. If you don't have a pan like that, transfer the mixture to use an oven-proof dish and cover with some aluminium foil.
- Put the risotto in the oven for 30 minutes. Once the rice is cooked, spread it out on a plate to cool. Then refrigerate for a few hours, or overnight.
- You can now start to assemble your arancini. Start by placing the flour, egg and breadcrumbs in separate dishes.
- Place some of the cold rice in the palm of your hand. Shape the rice into a little bowl. Don’t make it too thin, to prevent the the filling from ooze out later. Place one of the mozzarella balls in the "rice bowl". Finally, close the rice around the filling and shape into a ball. (about the size of a golf ball)
- Carefully roll each ball through the flour, then the egg and finally, the breadcrumbs. Make sure to shake off any excess between each step. Once each rice ball is completely covered, set it aside.
- Heat some vegetable oil to 180°C (350°F) in a deep fryer or a deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan.
- Fry the arancini, in several batches, for 8-9 minutes. Make sure to turn them over halfway through the cooking time, so they are cooked evenly on all sides. Then remove them from the oil and let them drain on kitchen paper.
- Serve them plain or with a little bit of tomato sauce on the side.
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