My first memory of eating arancini was going with my family to a local Italian restaurant in Baton Rouge named Gino’s for dinner on certain occasions growing up. Gino’s is the real deal of Italian restaurants—the ambiance of a family-owned restaurant in Italy itself with Italian specialties that never miss the mark. To this day, my Mom boasts Gino’s marinara sauce as the best in the world—and I would have to concur. Slightly sweet, full of tomato-ey flavor, and a perfectly rich texture that could only be the result of some sort of top secret family ingredient. In fact, my Mom and I visited Gino’s a couple of years ago when I was home for a visit. Everything we ordered was as good as I remembered, including the marinara sauce.
The dish I remember starting with was their arancini di riso, served on a bed of their famous marinara sauce. Arancini di riso are balls of tender rice (usually risotto rice) cooked with vegetables and aromatics, lightly floured and tossed in breadcrumbs and then fried until the outside is browned and crisp. Just think of the best plate of rich, creamy risotto that you have ever eaten, rolled up into a ball and then lightly fried. Risotto is traditionally a Sicilian dish, but each region of Italy, including Campagnia which is where Sorrento is located, has their own version of the classic.
One of the last appetizers we made at Mami Camilla cooking school a couple of weeks ago was the region’s version of arancini. The best risotto rice cooked in the traditional risotto method with wine and fragrant stock, along with diced onions and tender green peas, and then finished off with a mixture of chopped ham, swiss cheese, and creamy ricotta cheese. Breaded and then fried in sunflower oil, they chose to serve this arancini with a tangy balsamic-honey reduction instead of marinara sauce which was a nice contrast of flavors. No matter what you choose to serve alongside your arancini di riso, these decadent Italian morsels are unforgettably delicious.
(To view the recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Arancini di Riso
Ingredients:
- Heat 8 cups of vegetable stock in a saucepan on the stove. In the meantime, cook 1 cup of green peas in a small sauce pan with water or stock until tender. Chop up 4 oz. of quality ham and about 1 cup of Swiss cheese and add both to a mixing bowl. To this bowl stir in 4 oz. of ricotta cheese and your cooked peas.
- Chop 1 large onion and cook it in a large pan with 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter until translucent (approximately 5-7 minutes). Add 1 ½ cups of Arborio rice(short-grained risotto rice) to pan along with the onions and toast the rice for a few minutes while stirring. Add in ½ cup of dry white wine and allow it to absorb into the rice while constantly stirring. Over medium heat then add one ladle full of warmed veggie stock into the rice mixture and continue stirring until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding a ladle of warmed stock to the pan while stirring constantly, until you have used all of the broth and the risotto is tender and creamy in texture and the liquid evaporated. This will take anywhere from 20-25 minutes; don’t walk away from the risotto—you need to constantly stir it while it cooks so it doesn’t stick to the pan! (This is the risotto method of cooking rice!) Add in a pinch of saffron to the cooked risotto and ½ teaspoon of salt as well.
- Stir into the cooked risotto your bowl of ham and cheeses, as well as ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese. Spread the risotto mixture out on a flat surface and allow it to cool to room temperature. Once it is cooled, roll the cooked risotto into 3-inch balls, lightly coat them in all-purpose flour, then roll in egg whites, then fresh breadcrumbs. Fry the arancini in sunflower or canola oil until browned and crisp.
- Serve on top of marinara sauce, or balsamic-honey reduction.
- Balsamic Reduction
- In a saucepan, combine 6 parts of balsamic vinegar with 2 parts of granulated sugar and 2 parts honey. Constantly stirring, heat the mixture over medium-high heat until the sugar has cooked away and the mixture is thick with a syrupy consistency.
Directions:
Tagged: arancini, balsamic-honey reduction, culinary school, externship, ham, Italy, Mami Camilla cooking school, marinara sauce, peas, ricotta cheese, risotto, Sorrento, swiss cheese
you are right about Gino’s sauce and I had this very dish there in April for my retirement luncheon. On the way out Mama herself was standing there and looking good. It was fun to visit with her. She is from Sicily. One time Mike and I made the arancini and the kitchen looked like a disaster had hit it.–easier to go to Gino’s.
If you get to Sienna, the outstanding place for Panforte is inside the walled city where much of the shopping is located.
Glad you agree Mrs. Jan! It is the best sauce–great combination of texture and flavor (I love a pinch of sugar in my tomato sauce…) I love that you got to meet Mama Gino herself–a local celebrity indeed!
Thank you for the panforte tip, it is on my to-do/to-eat list in July when we are in the area!
Hope you and Mike have a great rest of the weekend!
Much love,
Anna