Arancini!

Arancini - one of my favorite dishes. This was an awesome challenge to make with many mistakes, but, totally fun an turned out pretty yummy!

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked white rice, cooled
½ cup grated Parmesan
3 eggs, separated
8 small cubes fresh mozzarella
1 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
Oil, for frying
1 cup store-bought or homemade marinara sauce

Directions:

Place a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat and add enough vegetable oil to rise 4 inches in the pot.

Cook the rice to the included directions.

Prepare your additional ingredients for assembly.

Wine is a must. Always. Especially when cooking Italian.

Combine the rice, Parmesan and 1 egg in a medium bowl and use your hands to thoroughly combine the mixture. DON'T FORGET THIS STEP (like I did). Your rice won't be quit sticky enough without that cheese and egg.

Form each arancini by taking a small portion of the mixture, squeezing it firmly and stuffing one cube of mozzarella inside each ball. Repeat this process to form 8 arancini.

Whisk together the remaining 2 eggs. Dip each arancini in the eggs and then in the breadcrumbs, shaking off any excess.

Once the oil reaches 375ºF, add 2 or 3 of the breaded arancini to the pot and fry them until golden brown and cooked throughout.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the fried arancini from the pot and transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate. Immediately salt the arancini. Repeat the frying process with the remaining arancini.

Perfecto!

Thanks for your help Dad!!

Notes:

Sushi rice is best for this recipe even though it's an Italian dish, however, Uncle Ben's white rice works well too. Just be wary, it's NOT minute rice. It takes a while to cook, and awhile to cool. 

I made my arancini a little too large. The consistency was too much rice and not enough cheese. It needed a bit more flavor so next time I will most likely add some garlic and rosemary or a spicy ingredient to amp it up.

You CAN'T rush the cooling of the rice by putting it in the fridge. Spread it out on some tin foil, like below, on a cooling rack. Will cool quicker without destroying consistency or flavor.