Recipe - Rice Balls (Arancini)

1 One half cup Raw rice (regular rice; not
minute rice)
3 One fourth cup Cold water
2 Bouillon cubes (I use Knorr
vegetarian; beef is also
OK)
1 Pat butter
One half pound Lean hamburger
2 (up to)
3 Eggs; whisked with a fork
2 tablespoon Melted butter
1 cup Shredded cheddar cheese
One half cup Parmesan or romano cheese;
grated
Salt; pepper to taste
Flour
Egg wash (1 egg to 1 tbs.
water)
Bread crumbs (plain)
Oil for deep frying

These are a favorite in my family. I adapted the recipe from an old Italian
recipe for Arancini. It is not as complicated as it sounds, but you have to
follow the directions rather closely.

Put the rice in a heavy bottom saucepan, and add cold water, bouillon
cubes, and the pat of butter. Bring to a boil over high heat. Immediately,
give one stir and cover. Turing the heat to low. (As low as possible) Leave
the pan on the burner for 20 minutes without stirring or opening the pan.
After 20 minutes, open pan, and fluff rice with a fork. Rice for this dish
should be slightly sticky. If rice is too dry or fluffy, add a tablespoon
of water, and place back on low heat for a few more minutes. When rice is
thoroughly cooked and sticky, let covered pan cool to room temperature.

While rice is cooling, cook hamburger in an open frypan until it is
thoroughly cooked. Crumble cooked hamburger finely. Drain cooked hamburger
in a colander and discard fat.

Mix cooled rice, hamburger, cheeses, and melted butter. Taste mixture and
correct seasonings by adding salt and pepper to taste. (I use a lot of
pepper, some people add a little oregano here.) Add beaten eggs, and then
mix thoroughly. You want the mixture to be about the consistency of play
dough, albeit lumpy.

Mold the mixture into small balls, about 1One half inches in diameter. You will
need to have wet hands to do this. If you've ever made meatballs, the
process is similar, but you kind of have to press the rice to make it hold
together. Let the finished balls sit out for 15 minutes or so to firm up.

Roll the rice balls in flour, then egg wash, then breadcrumbs. Again, let
sit out for a few minutes for the coating to firm up on the rice balls.

Preheat oil in deep fryer to 300 325 degrees. Fry the rice balls a few at
a time, until very lightly colored. Place fried rice balls on cookie sheet,
sprayed with Pam. When all the rice balls are fried, bake in a 350 oven for
20 minutes or so. This is to make sure that the egg is completely cooked,
and to prevent salmonella poisoning.

Rice balls can be refrigerated for 3 4 days, and served warm. A little
tomato sauce on the side for dipping is very good, too.

BTW, this is not as much work as it appears to be. Cooking the rice is
largely unattended, and a batch normally takes me an hour, once the rice is
cool.

KATHYNV@WORLD.STD.COM

(KATHY NICKLASVARRASO)

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