Going back hundreds of years Sicilians have dealt with leftover risotto by making fried rice balls - arancini - which is also a very popular street food. If it turns out that you don’t have any leftover risotto, well then you need to make some. Freshly made risotto doesn’t really work for this because it won’t hold together, so it is best if you make it the day before and then form the arancini the next day. To make the arancini you need to have:
• Day-old (or at least hours old) risotto.
• Cubed pieces of fontina (or other melty cheese)
• A three step breading station
o Flour (for gluten free, use rice flour)
o Beaten egg
o Plain breadcrumb (for gluten free, use gluten free breadcrumb)
• A deep fryer or pot of hot neutral oil, heated to 350 degrees F
To form the arancini, use a standard ice cream scoop that has a release lever. Take a scoop of the risotto and eject it out into your hand. Push a cube of the cheese into the center and form the risotto into a ball around the cheese. Roll the ball to coat in flour, then in the egg, and finally in the breadcrumb, making sure it is completely coated.
Put the arancini in the hot oil, making sure not to crowd the oil since it will interfere with the frying and also drop the temperature too much. They are done when the breadcrumb is golden brown. Put them on a rack to drain any excess oil.
What you have is this beautifully crunchy crust and the soft interior of the risotto with its great flavor and in the middle some ooey-gooey cheese. Yum.
The nice thing about these is that they can be made in advance, even a couple of days, and kept in the fridge. When you are ready to serve them, put them into a hot oven (375 degrees or so) until the breadcrumb gets all crunchy again. That’s what all the cafés and street vendors do, and it works great.
23 июл 2024
