Recipe
A Sicilian Family Takes You Through Making Arancine
Pizza and pasta are considered two staples of Italian dining that America has been blessed with. However, I think it's time for people in America to step out of their comfort zone. Italy is so much more than pizza and pasta. Each of the country's 20 regions has their own distinct dishes that help feed into the strong foodie culture.
The southernmost region in Italy is the island known as Sicily. Sicily has a reputation for its mouth-watering cuisine and specialties like organic meat, fresh local seafood, and ricotta cheese, which is a fundamental ingredient in cannoli.
One delicacy Sicily produces are fried rice balls—known as Arancine in the province of the city of Palermo, or Arancini in the province of the city of Catania. They are considered as a snack or antipasto, which is like an appetizer.
The name translates to "little oranges," which is fitting because that is what they look like. Arancine can be filled with either prosciutto and cheese or ground beef and peas. In Sicily, you can typically find them in bars around midday.
Since immigrating from Sicily, my family gets quite homesick for Sicilian dishes. Most of the time, however, you just can't find the same quality of ingredients here in America. So instead, we use our culinary expertise to improvise.
Odds are you aren't in Sicily right now, so this family recipe brought over from the old country will have to do for now. Let's eat, amici!
Authentic Arancine
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 2 cups Arborio Rice
- 1 cup peas
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons minced onion
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound 80/20 ground beef
- 24 ounces tomato puree
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 block butter
- 4 slices smoked ham cut up in pieces
- 2 large fresh mozzarella balls cut into cubes
- Vegetable Oil
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
Step 7
Step 8
Step 9
Step 10
Step 11
Step 12
Arancine are best served hot and fresh so be sure to indulge right after you finish cooking. If you have leftovers, stick them in the fridge. When you crave them again, heat them up in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
Arancine are just one of the staples of Sicilian cuisine that my family prepares. Eggplant Caponata is another favorite that is vegetarian friendly and is especially popular in the summer as a side dish. Sicilians have also mastered the art of crafting the perfect ice cream sandwich known as a brioche con gelato.
Of course, each Italian region has its own specialty dishes and it can't hurt to visit each and try them all.