Arancina with meat sauce
- Level: Intermediate
- Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus 1 day for the preparation of the rice
- Cooking: 5 minutes
Ingredients 4 servings
250 gr Arborio rice
250 gr Roma rice
1 lt water
1 gr pistils of saffron
150 gr minced veal
100 gr fresh green peas
100 ml tomato puree
6 eggs
100 gr chopped Caciocavallo cheese (alt. mozzarella)
100 gr butter
½ onion
1 carrot
1 stalk of celery
300 gr flour
300 gr bread crumbs
Red wine
Freshly ground salt and pepper
Vegetable oil for frying
Preparation
Bring water to a boil, add salt and then add the rice, cover and cook over moderate heat; at the end of the cooking, the rice should have absorbed all the water in the pot.
When the rice is still warm, stir it in the butter, saffron, 3 eggs and let it cool.
In a saucepan, sauté the celery, carrot and onion cut very finely. Once the vegetables are golden, add the meat making it slightly brown; simmer with half glass of red wine until reduced, then add salt, pepper and 30 grams of flour, being very careful that it doesn’t make lumps.
Add the tomato puree and simmer it for about an hour.
Separately, sear peas for a few minutes in plenty of salted water, drain and put them in a pan with a knob of butter; once the sauce is ready, complete by adding the peas and let cool.
For the preparation of arancine, form many balls with the rice of about 5 cm in diameter; make a hole with your thumb in each, fill with meat sauce and a cube of Caciocavallo cheese or mozzarella, then close it.
Dip the arancine in the flour, then in beaten and salted eggs, then in bread crumbs, then fry them a few at a time in hot oil.
Suggestions
Besides the meat sauce, arancine can be flavoured with different fillings such as ham and cheese, ricotta and spinach, salmon, etc.