Italy · Appetizers and Sandwiches · Vegetarian
Arancini
Crispy fried Sicilian rice balls stuffed with melted mozzarella. The secret is cold, sticky rice and proper three-step breading for a golden crust with a gooey cheese center.
68 min 550 kcal 4 serves Advanced🌿Vegetarian🇮🇹Italy★★★★★4.5· 6 reviews
Ingredients
ServingsMetric
- 500 gcooked cold rice
- 150 gpizza mozzarella
- 100 gall-purpose flour
- 200 gbreadcrumbs
- 2 eggs
- 50 gParmesan
- 1 lvegetable oil for deep-frying
- 150 gtomato sauce
- to tastesalt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
- The key: rice must be completely cold, ideally chilled for several hours. Mix in grated Parmesan if the rice was unseasoned.
- Cut mozzarella into neat 1.5 cm cubes. Prepare three wide bowls: flour, lightly beaten eggs with a pinch of salt, and breadcrumbs.
- Wet your hands. Take a portion of rice the size of a small tangerine, flatten on your palm, place a mozzarella cube in the center. Wrap the rice around the filling into a tight ball or cone. Make sure the cheese is fully enclosed.
- Bread each ball in sequence: first in flour (shake off excess), dip fully in beaten eggs, then coat thoroughly in breadcrumbs, pressing gently.
- Heat oil to 170–180 °C. Fry in small batches (3–4 pieces) until deep golden-brown, 3–5 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately with tomato sauce while the cheese is hot and melted.
FAQ
The main reason is warm or too crumbly rice. The rice must be cold (at least 2 hours in the refrigerator) and sticky — Arborio or short-grain rice cooked with Parmesan works best. Proper three-step breading is also essential: flour → beaten egg → breadcrumbs. If the balls crack in the oil, the temperature is too high — fry at 170–175 °C for a stable, even crust.
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Comments (1)
Presentation is half the battle with arancini. I serve it on a wooden board rather than a plate — it's more inviting and signals to people that they should reach in and help themselves.