The Italians call them arancini, a dish of cooked rice formed into a ball, stuffed with meat, vegetables or cheese, dredged in flour, coated with egg, covered in bread crumbs and deep fried.In this adaptation, the coating process is simplified. Rice, eggs, grated Parmesan and chopped chorizo are mixed, stuffed with cheese, formed into balls and deep fried until golden.
Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 10 minutesminutes
Total Time 20 minutesminutes
Servings 4people
Ingredients
2cupsday-old rice(use arborio, Japanese or other medium-grain rice)
100gramsSpanish chorizo(or use salami)
¼cupgrated Parmesan
2wholeeggs
saltoptional, only if the chorizo is not too salty
pepperoptional, only if the chorizo is not too spicy
100 to 150gramscheese(any variety that melts well), cut into one-inch cubes
In a mixing bowl, mix the rice, chopped chorizo, Parmesan, eggs and, optionally, salt and pepper.
Scoop some of the rice mixture using a measuring spoon or small ice cream scoop. Place a cheese cube at the center. Gather to form a ball making sure that no part of the cheese is exposed. Repeat until all the rice mixture has been used.
Place the rice balls in container in a single layer. Cover the container and chill the rice balls for at least 30 minutes.
Start heating the oil in a wok or frying pan.
Take the rice balls out of the fridge and roll each one in panko.
When the oil has reached a temperature of 350F, fry the rice balls in batches. Turn then around occasionally for even frying. When the crust is a golden brown, scoop out and move to a plate lined with paper towels.
Serve the arancini-style cheese-stuffed rice balls with tomato sauce on the side for dipping.