Making Arancini

Sicily is famous for its Street Food, the most well-known is Arancini which is a Sicilian fast food snack available in bars and from street vendors. 

Arancini are balls of rice that are filled with a ragu sauce, rolled in breadcrumbs then deep fried. Their round golden shapes resemble oranges (aranci) which is how they got their name. They are said to have originated in 10th-century Sicily at a time when the island was under Arab rule.

In Sicily Arancini are a traditional food for the feast of Santa Lucia on 13th December when bread and pasta are not eaten. This commemorates the arrival of a grain supply ship on Santa Lucia's day in 1646, relieving a severe famine on the island.

Today, with the increasing popularity of this street food in modern Italian food culture, Arancini are found all year round at most Sicilian food outlets, particularly in Palermo, Messina and Catania. The dish is often made using rice from left-over risotto.

The most common type of Arancini sold in Sicilian cafés are Arancini con Ragù, which typically consist of meat in a tomato sauce, rice, peas and mozzarella. Many cafés also offer Arancini al Burro (with butter or béchamel sauce) or specialty Arancini, such as Arancini con Funghi (mushrooms), con Pistacchi (pistachios), or con Melanzane (aubergine) known as con Norma.

They are considered a meal in one and in Norman times the nobles of Sicily would take them out on hunting trips a bit like Cornish pasties for coal miners in Cornwall.

Arancini (plural) causes much debate in Sicily depending on which part of the island you come from.

In Palermo they are adamant that Arancini are female therefore in Palermo they are known singularly as Arancina. In Catania they are adamant that Arancini are male therefore in Catania they are known singularly as Arancino. They are also different in shape, in Palermo they are round and in Catania they have a more conical shape.

This subject causes many debates throughout the island and it is fascinating and sometimes hilarious listening to Sicilians arguing about whether Arancini are male or female. Arancini wars.

In Italian literature, Inspector Montalbano, the main character of Andrea Camilleri's detective novels, is a well-known lover of Arancini. In fact there is one episode called Gli Arancini di Montalbano (Montalbano’s croquettes). The success of the books and the television series has contributed to making this dish known outside of Italy and now you may find Arancini on even the finest restaurant menus around the world.

Inspector Montalbano (Photo: Google Images)

My “adopted” Sicilian big brother recently came to stay with us in London and he is quite a fantastic chef (but do not tell him that if you ever meet him).

To remind you of how we met … Ten years ago (this June) myself and my husband were celebrating our wedding anniversary in a well-known café in Taormina.

In my best Italian I could muster at the time I ordered a glass of wine, a strawberry gelato and a beer. The waiter gave an odd look and then walked off with his silver tray. On his return as he placed my glass of wine in front of me he looked at me and said “your Italian is S***”". My husband burst into laughter and it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship and he now holds the title ‘my Sicilian big brother’. Today he cannot believe that he actually said that to me.

I had always wanted to have a go at making Arancini but thought it looked complicated but with my Sicilian big brother staying it was the perfect opportunity for him to give me a cooking class on making Arancini.

Now it has been said by those who know us well that we actually do fight like a real big brother and sister. So this was going to be fun … Arancini wars.

Traditionally Arancini is made using left over risotto and ragu, but we decided that we would make them from scratch. I made the ragu sauce and bread crumbs the night before and I was instructed that the sauce must include peas.

I used 500g of minced meat, ¼ pint of beef stock, 1 tbsp of tomato paste, 1 onion and 1 tbsp of oregano. I made the sauce in the usual way of ragu and added boiled peas towards the end. I put the sauce in the fridge overnight.

For the bread crumbs I put five slices of brown bread in the oven to bake until they were slightly crispy and then I blitzed them in a food processor then put them in a plastic bag.

The following morning we made the risotto, we used 1kg of Arborio rice and cooked it according to the packet and added a few strands of saffron to give the rice a yellow colour which is so typical of Arancini. We then left the cooked risotto to cool and rest for later.

After a glass of red wine and watching an English movie on TV my Sicilian big brother had an afternoon nap (Zzzzzzzzzzzzz) and then it was time to construct the Arancini without killing each other.

Arancin(a) (Photo credit: Google Images)

First we chopped up some mozzarella into 1cm chunks and put some flour and water into a bowl and whisked until combined.

Then in the palm of our hands we put a couple of tablespoons of the risotto rice and patted it down after this we took some of the ragu mixture and mozzarella then covered it with more risotto and moulded them into conical shapes, we live on the east side of Sicily so for us Arancini are male, Arancino.

We then dipped them into the flour/water mixture and then rolled them in the breadcrumbs to coat them evenly after setting them to one side ready for deep frying.

We also made some female Arancini (Arancina) but with just mozzarella inside for my vegetarian friends.

After heating up some vegetable oil in a heavy based saucepan we added the Arancini a few at a time until they were crisp and golden and placed them on paper towels for any excess oil ready to eat.

And then it was time to eat .... They were absolutely delicious.

We had lots of ingredients left over so we made a Sicilian risotto cake for the next day, layering breadcrumbs then risotto, ragu sauce, mozzarella and ham then more risotto covered with the remaining breadcrumbs into a cake tin, covered it with cling film and put it in the fridge ready to be baked in the oven the following day.

With the remaining ingredients my super chef Sicilian big brother made the most amazing risotto dish adding parmesan cheese to enjoy after our Arancini starter.

Delizioso … and in case you are wondering, the Arancini were made very peacefully so a second cookery lesson to learn how to make another favourite Sicilian dish Parmigiana Melanzana was scheduled, so keep posted !!!!!

I would like to say a BIG thank you to my Sicilian big brother for showing me how to make Arancini

Love you lots

Photo Gallery

Making Arancini

Can I have one?

What we made with the leftovers .....

When in Sicily a cookery class is the perfect experience
where you can learn to make traditional Sicilian dishes
or why not join a street food tour of one of Sicily’s famous markets
where you can sample delicious street food.

Feel free to email me for my recommendations.

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Love Sarah x