This recipe is one of my first child’s favorites. She is always excited when she hears were making arancini. She loves to pack them in her lunchbox for school the next day to share cold with her friends! We generally serve 2-3 to each person and still have enough for her to take for lunch the next day.
Although we usually serve arancini as side dish to grilled chicken or steak, it is the star of the meal. It is served with a little dish of homemade marinara sauce for dipping. It also is a great appetizer or potluck finger food.
The creamy, cheesy rice is made of risotto that has been cooked ahead of time and chilled so that it is easier to form into rice balls.
Print Recipe
Italian Arancini
Equipment
- dutch oven
- Large cast iron skillet
Ingredients
Step 1: Baked Risotto
- 1 tbsp Salted butter
- 1/2 cup Yellow onion, minced very small
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1½ cups Arborio rice
- 1/2 cup Pinot grigio
- 3 cups Chicken broth
- 1 cup Milk
- 1/2 tsp Sea salt
- 1/4 tsp Black pepper
- 1/2 tsp Oregano
- 1½ cup Mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
Step 2: Forming and Frying the arancini
- 1/2 cup All purpose flour
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
- 2 Eggs
- 2 cups Panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup Plain bread crumbs
- Avocado Oil (frying)
Marinara dipping sauce
- 2 cups Tomato sauce
- 1/2 tsp Oregano (dried)
- 1/2 tsp Basil (dried)
- 1/4 tsp Sea salt
Instructions
Baked Risotto Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- In a large dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat.
- Add the onions and garlic and sauté until soft.
- Pour the dry arborio into the dutch oven and stir to lightly coat the rice with the butter. Give the rice a few minutes in the hot butter to enable the starches to break down a little to create the signature texture of risotto.
- Add the pinot grigio and stir for about 3-4 minutes or until the liquid becomes creamy.
- Add the chicken broth, milk, sea salt, pepper, and oregano.
- Stir to combine all the ingredients and bring the dutch oven to a simmer.
- Once the broth begins to simmer, cover and place the dutch oven into the preheated oven.
- Bake the rice for 30 minutes.
- After baking, remove from the oven and allow to rest for 1 hour at room temperature. Do not remove the cover while the risotto is cooling.
- Once it is cool enough to refrigerate, stir the mozzarella and parmesan into the rice and refrigerate until cold. I usually refrigerate for 7-8 hours before assembling and frying the arancini.
Heating the marinara
- In a medium saucepan, simmer tomato sauce, oregano, basil, and salt over medium low heat. Allow the sauce to simmer while continuing to make the arancini.
Forming and frying the Arancini
- Remove the risotto from the refrigerator and gather supplies for frying.
- In a large cast iron skillet, heat avocado oil over medium heat.
- The frying process will be to form the balls, dip in flour, dip in egg, cover in bread crumbs. Set up 3 bowls with the breading ingredients. Bowl #1- flour, salt, and pepper. Bowl #2 beaten eggs. Bowl #3 bread crumbs.
- Remove a small palmful (about 2 tablespoons) of cold risotto rice from the dutch oven and form into a ball. If it is too sticky to work with, wet your hands a little.
- Dip the rice ball into the flour, then the egg, then the bread crumbs.
- Gently place the ball into the hot oil to fry. The bread crumbs become golden and crispy pretty quickly. Turn the rice balls as they fry. I can generally fit about 12 into the skillet at a time.
- Once the arancini is golden brown on all areas of the outside, remove from the oil and drain on a paper towel lined cooling rack.
- Serve right away with hot marinara dipping sauce.
