My husband Peter stepped off the plane on Friday. His birthday is tomorrow and he had already placed his order in with my mum for his dinner on the special day, spoilt I know. On the top of his list were the sicilian Arancini, next polpetti (meatballs) and lastly braccioli, who knows what they are called in English. As I missed out on the whole webolutionary recipe thing, I thought I'd just add mine anyways. Here goes:
ARANCINI AL RISO
For the risotto:
1 onion,
finely minced
20gr butter
2 cups risotto rice
4 cups chicken broth
150gr grated Pecorino cheese
For the ragù:
50gr pancetta
1 onion
1 carot
1 celery stick
1 clove garlic, minced
200gr beef chuck
1 cup tomato purée
1 cup red wine
2 twigs thyme
1 bay leafsalt,
pepper
1 cup cooked green peas
When making the arancini:
1 cup flour
1 cup breadcrumbs
3 eggs, beaten
200gr cheese,
soft pecorino or other meltable cheese
The day before, make the risotto by frying the minced onion gently in a saucepan, then adding the uncooked rice and leaving it for two more minutes, then adding the broth and leaving it unocvered until cooked. Do not add saffron. When cold add the grated pecorino, cover and store in the frige until the next day. While you make the risotto, prepare the ragù. Fry pancetta, minced onion and garlic until soft. Gradually add finely minced chuck meat so that it will brown without releasing too much liquid at once. When all meat has been browned in this way, add minced carrot and celery stick and fry for 5 more minutes. Pour the red wine and let cook for 2 minute until alcool has evaporated. Add tomato paste, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover and leave to cook on lowest flame for 1 hours or until meat is soft. Store in the fridge until next day.
The next day, heat 2 liters (2 quarts) oil to 180°C in a pan and prepare 7 bowls:
Bowl 1: Cold risottoBowl 2: RagùBowl 3: Diced cheeseBowl 4: FlourBowl 5: Beaten eggsBowl 6: BreadcrumbsBowl 7: Water
To make an arancino, take two tablespoons of risotto in one hand, make a hole with a finger and stuff it with ragù and 1-2 cheese cubes. Close the hole with the risotto until you have a small ball with no ragù in sight. Some people make little volcanoes as you see in the picture above. Roll the arancino in the flour, shake it to remove excess flour, then quickly dip into the beaten eggs and check it is thoroughly covered on all its surface. If not, dip again in the eggs until it is. Then just roll in breadcrumbs to make a nice crust and deep fry until nicely brown.
Making arancini is not difficult and does not require special skill. Your first arancini will be very 'ricy'. The name of the game is to get as much filling in as little risotto possible. If you keep trying, each arancino will be better than the last one. Good luck!
