Arancini, Fried Rice Balls

Winter is one of my favorite seasons but I sometimes miss summer as well. The weather is crazy here in Istanbul nowadays. The snow storms are not leaving the city for the rest of the week and even though I love winter, the weather makes me miss the warm summer days. That is why I am going to share a recipe that I first tasted last summer and have been wanting to cook for a really long time. 

I tasted this arancini last summer in Carluccio's which is an Italian restaurant here in Istanbul. I fell in love with the creamy and crispy rice balls and wanted to try them. But whenever I cooked a risotto at home I couldn't resist and I ate it the way it is. That is why I never had any leftovers for risotto and I was very lazy to prepare a risotto from scratch just for this recipe. 

Having some leftovers took approximately a couple of months and I was finally able to cook some arancini. I loved the home cooked version better because the arancini I had in the restaurant was a little bit greasy. I served mine with some green salad on the side and it was absolutely delicious. They were so yummy on their own, they did not need any marinara sauce on the side. However if you are not like me and if you love a great tomato sauce then go for it. 

So, here is the recipe for a great alternative for a risotto: 

Ingredients: 

2 cups of leftover Risotto Milanese

1 egg

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Salt, pepper

50 g. mozzarella, cut into cubes

A couple drops of hot sauce (Tabasco)

For coating:

1 egg

1 cup of flour

Salt, Pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1 cup breadcrumbs

Oil for frying

Directions: 

1) Add in the risotto, the egg, parmesan, breadcrumbs and the hot sauce in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix until well combined. 

2) Using an ice-cream scoop make balls from the rice mixture and roll in your hands. Press with your thumb and put in the cheese. Cover the cheese with the sides of the ball and roll in your hands to make sure you have a perfect ball shaped arancini.

3) Heat some vegetable oil in a dutch oven. 

4) Add the flour into a bowl. Then add the breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and paprika to another shallow bowl for coating. Mix the breadcrumb mixture until well combined.  

5) Whisk the egg for the egg wash for the coating. 

6) Roll the arancini first in flour, then in the egg and finally in the breadcrumbs. 

7) Fry the arancini for about 2-3 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown. Serve them with marinara sauce and/or a green salad on the side. 

Enjoy.