Or else Italian Rice Balls.
Tried them for the first time years ago in Italy and again last week at the new Arancini Brothers restaurant in Dalston, which made me experiment with a couple of recipes at home. The conclusion was that -as almost always- keeping it simple, is the key to a satisfying result.
For 24 balls:
2
eggs
30g grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon
dried parsley
freshly ground black pepper
salt
water
150g uncooked white rice
100g dried bread crumbs (for gluten free version use gluten free bread)
olive oil
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cheese, parsley, pepper, and salt. Cover and refrigerate while proceeding to the next step.
Pour water
and 1 teaspoon salt into a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in
rice and reduce heat to low. Cook rice until water is almost absorbed,
stirring frequently. Remove from heat and slowly pour in egg mixture,
stirring rapidly to prevent egg from scrambling. Allow rice mixture to
cool for 1 hour.
Pour bread
crumbs into a pile on one end of a cutting board. Dampen hands and roll
rice mixture into one inch balls, then coat each one with bread crumbs.
In a small,
deep skillet, heat olive oil to 175 degrees C. Remember that it should
have enough oil to completely cover rice balls. Fry six rice balls at a
time, turning as needed to ensure even browning. Drain on paper towels
and serve warm. Perfect with spicy tomato sauce, putanesca, garlic mayonnaise.
