A pointed golden rice ball beside a broken-open piece showing rice, meat ragù, peas, mortadella and melted cheese.

Arancino

Eastern Sicilian rice ball with meat ragù

From: Sicilia orientale (Stretto di Messina), Sicilia (Sicily)
Kind: Bread, pizza & street food
Yield: Makes 10 substantial arancini

In Messina, the arancino is often tall and tapered, its pointed rice shell enclosing a generous filling that can be carried away in one hand. Its masculine name belongs to eastern Sicily; across the island, Palermo has the round arancina.

A little tomato-rich sauce colors the rice pink, while the center holds meat, peas, mortadella, and cubes of melting cheese. The layers are generous, but each must be cool and fairly firm before the shell can be shaped and fried without splitting.

The first bite should crack through fine crumbs into distinct grains of rice, then reach the warm filling.

Ingredients

Meat ragù

45 ml(3 tbsp)extra-virgin olive oil
80 gyellow onion, finely chopped
50 gcarrot, finely chopped
40 gcelery, finely chopped
300 gground meat, equal parts beef, veal, and pork
100 ml(scant ½ cup)dry red wine
30 gdouble-concentrated tomato paste
300 gplain tomato passata (see note)
1bay leaf
fine salt and freshly ground black pepper

Rice and filling

500 gCarnaroli rice
about 1.1 liters(4⅔ cups)light vegetable broth, kept hot
0.2 gsaffron threads, crushed
60 gunsalted butter
80 gParmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
100 gfresh or frozen peas, cooked and well drained
120 gmortadella, cut from one thick slice into small cubes (see note)
160 gyoung caciocavallo or unsmoked scamorza, cut into small cubes (see note)
fine salt

Coating and frying

100 gall-purpose flour
3large eggs, beaten
200 gfine unseasoned dry breadcrumbs
about 1.5 liters(6⅓ cups)peanut oil, or enough for deep frying

Kitchen notes

Tomato passata: Use plain strained tomato, not a seasoned or sweetened American pasta sauce. The reserved spoonful of ragù liquid gives this Messina-style rice its characteristic pale tomato tint.
Mortadella: Buy Italian-style mortadella in a thick slice to cube, not American bologna. Its delicate seasoning is part of this Messina-style filling.
Young caciocavallo or unsmoked scamorza: Young caciocavallo and unsmoked scamorza give the filling a soft, melting center. Choose a mild, semi-firm Italian cheese; a very old, hard grating caciocavallo or smoked American-style provolone will change the texture and flavor.
Fine dry breadcrumbs: Choose unseasoned fine crumbs rather than coarse panko so the pointed shell gets a close, even crust.

Method

Make a thick ragù

Cook the onion, carrot, and celery in the olive oil over medium-low heat until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the three meats and brown them thoroughly, breaking them into small pieces. Pour in the wine and let it reduce almost completely. Stir in the tomato paste, passata, and bay leaf; season lightly. Simmer gently, partly covered, for 75–90 minutes. Before the ragù is quite dry, lift off about 45 ml (3 tbsp) of its tomato-rich liquid for the rice. Continue reducing the rest until it is thick enough to sit on a spoon without running. Remove the bay leaf and cool the ragù completely.

Cook and chill the rice

Put the rice in a wide saucepan with about 450 ml (scant 2 cups) of the hot broth and the saffron. Simmer, stirring frequently and adding small amounts of broth only as the rice needs them, for about 10–12 minutes. Stop while the grains are still distinctly firm at the center and the pan is nearly dry; the rice will finish cooking in the fryer. Do not turn it into a loose risotto or force it to absorb all the broth. Off the heat, stir in the butter, Parmigiano, and reserved ragù liquid; the rice should be faintly pink and hold together when pressed. Taste for salt, spread on a tray, cool completely, then refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.

Shape the arancini

Divide the cold rice into 10 portions. With damp hands, flatten about two-thirds of one portion into a thick round in your palm. Add a generous spoonful of cold ragù, a few peas, and a share of the mortadella and cheese; use the remaining rice to cap it. Press the join closed all around, then form a plump oval with a tapering point. Repeat, dividing the fillings among all 10. Patch any exposed filling with rice before coating.

Coat and fry

Set the flour, beaten eggs, and breadcrumbs in separate shallow dishes. Coat each arancino lightly in flour, then egg, then fine crumbs, covering the base and tip completely. Heat the oil in a deep heavy pot to 320°F (160°C). Fry a few at a time for about 6–8 minutes, turning gently and keeping the oil near 320°F (160°C), until the crust is deep golden and the center hot; cut the first one open to check that the cheese has melted. Drain briefly and serve hot.