Name: Sicilian Rice Balls (Arancini)
Yield: Makes about 16
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 cup flour; 1 pound ricotta; 3 cups canola or vegetable oil for deep-frying; 2 cups dried bread crumbs; 1 cup grated caciocavallo or Romano cheese; 2 eggs; 1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas, thawed; 2 cups Italian arborio or American Carolina rice; 1 cup Meat Sauce

Preparation info

Makes about
16

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Sicilian Feasts

By Giovanna Bellia La Marca

Published 2023

About

Although arancini can be filled with meat and sauce, my mother Concetta, who made them to perfection, liked to prepare them this way. Coating the arancini with flour paste and bread crumbs, and chilling before frying them, was her way of ensuring that they did not crack or open up when deep-fried.

Ingredients

2 cups Italian arborio or American Carolina rice
1 cup Meat Sauce

Method

Boil the rice until tender and drain. When the rice is still hot, but cool enough to handle, add the sauce, cheese, peas, and eggs, mix well and let cool. Take a handful of rice, make a depression in the middle, and fill with 1 teaspoon of ricotta. Cover the ricotta with more rice, and shape into a b