Incredible Arancini
Nov 30, 2024 01:43 AM
I first made arancini a couple years ago for a dinner party around the holidays, and now I have thought about it again, and made it again, every year since.
Arancini is the Italian dish of balls of creamy risotto packed with mozzarella cheese and fried to golden stuffed perfection.
Guys, this is not a practical food to make. This is not a fast, everyday dinner. This is the opposite of that. We are first making risotto (a bit tiresome in and of itself) and then rolling it up with mozzarella cheese, breading it, frying it, and dunking it, hot and melty, into a red sauce.
This is a recipe for special occasions and hence why I only make this once a year. But when I do make it… oh my gosh.
I made it a bit early this year, but it usually holds its place on my mental calendar for the week between Christmas and New Year’s. It’s people hanging out, it’s a spirit of frivolity, it’s something to celebrate.
But ultimately it’s the desire to pull apart a crispy, golden ball of creamy risotto stuffed with molten, melty cheese and dunk it into a rich red sauce. I can’t even. It’s so good. Lick fingers and repeat.
If you’ve never had arancini, I can’t wait for you to make this.
Ingredients:
For the Risotto
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided
- half of a yellow onion, finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced or minced
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 3 1/2 cups chicken broth, warmed
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- a bit of lemon zest (1-2 teaspoons)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- pepper to taste
For Frying the Arancini
- a block of low moisture Mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
- 2 cups panko, crushed in a food processor (optional on the crushing but it makes for a finer crisp)
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 eggs, whisked
- vegetable oil or canola oil for frying
For the Sauce
- Your favorite store-bought tomato sauce, or arrabbiata sauce for something spicy.
Total Time:
105 minutes
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