Arangini (Italian Rice Balls)
Crispy meatball-sized starters with deep fried outsides and moist herb and cheese insides.
Ingredients
Serves: 24
- 900ml water
- 250g uncooked brown rice
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 125g thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
- 125g mozzarella cheese, diced
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 5 egg whites, divided
- 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 125g dried breadcrumbs
- 750ml vegetable oil for frying
Method
Prep:40min ›
Cook:25min ›
Ready in:1hr5min
- Bring water to the boil in a saucepan. Stir in the rice and add the garlic, bay leaf and salt. Return to the boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat, discard garlic and bay leaf, and allow to cool.
- In a medium bowl, combine the prosciutto, mozzarella cheese and basil. Pour 2 teaspoons of the olive oil over, and toss to coat.
- Stir 3 egg whites and the Parmesan cheese into the rice until well blended. Stir the resulting rice mixture into the mozzarella and basil mixture until ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Heat 5cm of oil in a deep-fryer to 180 degrees C. Place breadcrumbs in one shallow bowl, and whisk together 2 remaining egg whites and 1 teaspoon of olive oil in another shallow bowl.
- Wet hands and shape the rice mixture into 24 balls. Dip each ball in the egg whites, then coat with breadcrumbs. Deep fry the rice balls a few at a time until golden brown, about 30 seconds per batch. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot.
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Reviews & ratings
Average global rating:
(42)
Reviews in English (31)
While I'm sure that this recipe is great as written, there are a few "technical" things that I want to clear up. It is really known as arancini and should be made first as a risotto and then the cold leftovers used to make the rice balls with a variety of fillings, including mozzarella, ground beef or lamb, proscuitto, peas and swiss cheese. Really great, Roman style street food or snack. - 16 Apr 2005 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)
absolutely divine - can't go wrong with following this recipe to the letter. It is time consuming - but well worth the effort and would be sure to impress! The rice took at least 30 min to cool before I could proceed with the next step, so make sure you get the rice happening before you do anything else. - 08 Jul 2006 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)
I've been looking for this recipe everywhere! Thanks so much! These are just like my Nonna's, except she put peas in the middle of hers and occasionally a bit of ground beef or lamb instead of the prosciutto. I made my rice balls pretty large, and molded them into a bell shape like my Nonna's. Delicious! Thanks again! - 25 Aug 2003 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)