Arancini or Suppli . . . .?

When we were in Italy one of our favourite treats were fried rice balls. We had them numerous times - in Rome, Tuscany, and again in Venice.

We discovered that arancini are a typical specialty of Sicilian cuisine, yet we were no where near Sicily. I suspect that frugal Italians, not wanting to waste good food, copped the idea and local varietals evolved from there.  The Sicilian arancini are fried or, less commonly, baked rice balls, having a diameter of 8-10 cm, filled usually with ragù (meat sauce), but also with tomato sauce, mozzarella, peas, and other things. On the outside they are simply breadcrumbs. There are a number of local variants, different in both fillings and shapes.

In northern Italian cuisine, supplì are similar, but typically are smaller, have fewer vegetables, use sauce, and the rice used is generally leftover risotto rather than specially made.

We discovered that there are many different styles and preparation techniques; sometimes they were called arancini and sometimes suppli. To be honest, we couldn't have cared less about what they were called so long as we had some!

You may be like me and not have a supply of leftover risotto laying about just waiting to be wrapped about bits of cheese, breaded, fried, and enjoyed. In that case I strong suggest this recipe which was shared by Mary (Rome Addict) from the slowtravel message boards. I've made these a few times now and it was a pleasure to tell Mary how much I enjoyed her recipe when I met her last October at Palma's party.

Coat the bottom of a large deep frying pan with about 1/4 cup olive oil.

1 and 1/2 cups arborio rice
3 medium shallots (about the size of a chestnut) finely chopped.
2 cloves garlic finely chopped

Heat the oil and lightly fry the garlic and shallots until soft. Add the rice and fry for 3-5 minutes stirring constantly. The rice will be coated with oil and start to change color from translucent to milky white. Add 3 cups of chicken stock and 8-10 threads of saffron.

Stirring often, start to simmer. When the liquid has mostly evaporated (don't let the pan go dry) add 1 cup dry white wine and another cup of stock. Continue adding stock as needed until the rice is just slightly al dente. Then start to cook off the liquid. You want to end up with cooked rice and no liquid.

After the liquid is cooked off add 1 cup finely grated Parmigiano cheese and stir in. The rice should be quite sticky. When the rice is totally cool add 2 beaten eggs and mix vigorously. If it is runny add bread crumbs until it becomes dryer again.

1 ball fresh mozzarella cut into 1/2 inch squares.

Take about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoon of the rice mixture and in the cupped palm of your hand spread it out. Add one cube of mozzarella. Wrap the rice around the cheese cube. Should be about 1/2 inch of rice all around the cheese cube. Add more rice if necessary to get good coverage all around the cheese. Shouldn't be any thin spots but you also don't want something the size of a softball. Press it together fairly firmly (think of it as making a risotto mini snow ball). It should be tight enough to toss without falling apart in the air (although I wouldn't suggest throwing one at your loved ones as a 'test', Lord knows I would never attempt something like that, no I would not).

Roll your risotto balls in bread crumbs and set aside. In a fresh pan heat at least 2 inches of peanut oil to 350 - 375 degrees. Gently place the risotto balls into the hot fat. Cook turning over a couple of times until deep golden brown. Remove from fat and drain well. Eat hot.

You can freeze the balls before deep frying. This makes this a great party appetizer. Just thaw and deep fry.