Easy Italian Arancini

I’ve recently become obsessed with going back to Italy to continue taking cooking classes. When I find the funds and time to do so, I’ve already informed Dane I will be on a one-way plane. Okay, just kidding, it will definitely be round-trip because I would miss the heck out of my family.

Moving right along, I was making Italian Arancini last week and Dane was looking at me as I babbled on about rice temperature and adding eggs. He was convinced this was becoming an Asian dish and I continued to yammer on about types of breadcrumbs and gluten free substitutes. Thankfully, I was finally done cooking and these delectable little treats were wolfed down in less than 10 minutes. Truth me told, I used to make them all the time. I can’t really be sure what happened, but the caloric intake alone is enough to stop a horse heart. That being said, you should probably make them.

You Will Need:

1 cup rice, cooked
 2 eggs
Parmesan or mozzarella cheese, shredded
Parmesan or mozzarella cheese, cubed
*note, I accidentally shredded all mine before I could chunk any into cubes, hence the very sharp cheddar you’re seeing instead of a mozz.
1 cup breadcrumbs
*I used gluten free sunflower seed bread that I put in a food processor, but for anyone who doesn’t have a gluten allergy–store bought should do the trick!
oil for frying
marinara sauce for dipping

1. Cook rice. While rice is cooling, mix in one egg and a handful of cheese. I never measure these sorts of things so I wish I could say something better than ‘handful’, but….welcome to my kitchen.

2. Mix well and let cool.

3. While the rice is cooling, take your other egg, crack it into a bowl and whisk.

4. In a separate bowl, pour your breadcrumbs.

5. Rice ball making time! Take a cube of mozzarella and wrap the cheesy, eggy rice mixture around it. Sizing wise, I typically make balls slightly larger than a golf ball. Do this until you have used all of your rice mixture.

***At this point, begin heating oil in a stove-top pan. I pour just enough oil to reach about an inch high in my saute pan.
6. Next, take each ball and dip it into the egg bowl, followed by rolling in the bread crumbs.

7. You’re ready to fry! Your oil should be hot enough by now. Place each rice ball into the hot oil and fry until lightly golden.

8. Place all balls on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 110-15 until golden brown.

9. Serve with marinara sauce and try not to eat all of them in one sitting 🙂