Arancini are a typical Sicilian street food, in the rest of Italy are called Arancini (masculine plural) while in Palermo are called Arancine (feminine plural)
In every bar, deli and diner Palermitana arancine can find at any time of year, but in reality they are, along with the cuccìa (Of which maybe in the future I will write), a typical dish of the feast of Saint Lucia (December 13 ) feast in which one should abstain from eating flour.
But let the recipe, what do you think?
In Palermo we can find two types of Arancine, the butter and the meat, the basis is the same but change the type of seasoning.
Here is the basic recipe of arancine
Ingredients for the rice:
- 1kg of arborio rice (preferably one for timbales)
- 100 g butter
- 30 g salt
- 20 grams of vegetable nut
- saffron
- 150 g pecorino or parmesan
Procedure:
- Bring to the boil 2.5 liters of water containing a cube of vegetable stock cubes and pour all ingredients into mixing with a spoon to make amalgamate.
- Boil for 10 minutes.
- At this point the water is already dried and then let stand 5 min. and add the grated cheese
- let cool rice (even for one night) must become compact and manageable (and then make arancini rice with boiling would be detrimental to your hands: /)
- Now decide how to do them .. butter or meat (nothing prevents you from using a portion of rice to make them with butter and another for them to meat):
For arancine to meat you have to make the sauce, I use this recipe
Ingredients:
- 900g of tomato paste
- 100g peas
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion
- 500g ground
- Oil q.b
- 1/2 glass of red wine
Procedure:
- Chop the onion and carrots and fry them in a pan with 3 tablespoons of oil.
- Add the chopped and let you cook on high heat.
- Sgranatelo well with a wooden spoon.
- Pour the wine.
- United salt, pepper and the concentrate dissolved in a little water.
- Simmer the sauce for 40 minutes (you have to make the sauce. Consider if you prefer to have a dry sauce or more liquid *)
- Cook the peas, drain and add them to the sauce cold. If you use frozen ones, scongeliate them in boiling salted water.
For arancine butter instead have to do the Bechamelle
Ingredients:
- 500 grams of diced mozzarella
- 300 grams of ham cut into small pieces
- 30 grams of grated Parmesan cheese
- 100 grams of butter.
- 1l milk
- 100 grams of flour
- a pinch of nutmeg
- a pinch of salt
Procedure:
- Melt butter
- Add the flour and stir for a few minutes without letting them take color
- Add the milk salt and nutmeg. Cook until the sauce thickens
- Evaluate if you want a more liquid sauce or not and according to this calculated cooking time.
- Put the butter in a saucepan and let it melt, add the sifted flour.
- Cook for a few minutes, stir constantly to avoid them take color or make it stick.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the milk, stirring all with a wooden spoon.
- Put the pan on the fire then, cook over low heat until boiling.
- Add a pinch of salt and a pinch of nutmeg.
- Stir over low heat until the sauce thickens.
- Let cool the sauce.
- Add the ham and cheese
Prepare a thick batter with water, flour and salt regulator eye for quantity, should not be watery and serves to roll arancine before covering with the bread crumbs.
Let’s move on to the practical part.
How do the arancine?
Take a spoonful of rice and put it on the palm of the hand to form a groove where we will put a spoonful of one of the two fillings you have prepared. Take another spoonful of rice and cover the filling very well.
Form arancina clenching the mixture with your hands in order to compact it and shape it (arancine round are the meat while oblong are those butter). Switch arancina in batter or breadcrumbs and always compacting arancina and set aside.
Proceed until all ingredients (if you want to try both halved the proportions of both fillings).
In hot oil fry the arancine until they are golden brown
Little advice .. you split the job in two days. The first day you make the rice (which must still stand long) and filled, the next day prepared arancine and the batter and fry them …. you’ll be ok ok..vi also deserved to eat them.
Tranlated by: Corinne Niccoli
