Arancini Recipes That Do The Impossible And Make Risotto Even Better

It deep fries it to golden perfection.

It's hard to improve upon a dish as perfect as risotto, which is the best thing that could ever happen to rice. It's creamy and savory and wonderful in every way. When you turn risotto into arancini, you're on to something magical because all the greatness of risotto is stuffed, balled, breaded and deep-fried. Cheese is also usually involved. It doesn't get much better than that.

Arancini is a traditional Italian street food, said to have originated in Sicily. It gets its name from the Italian word arancia, which means orange, because the little fried rice balls are said to resemble little oranges. While they're often almost bite-size, they can also come big enough to cut up and eat with a fork and knife.

Arancini is usually made with plain risotto and typically stuffed with mozzarella cheese. It can also be stuffed with meat sauce and made with different flavors of risotto. How does carbonara arancini sound, for example? New York's Il Gattopardo restaurant serves a beloved combination of sweet peas, smoked buffalo mozzarella and veal sughetto, which means sauce or gravy. Visit any Italian restaurant or household and you're likely to find somebody's Italian grandmother's special recipe for arancini: fried, golden and perfected however it comes. Sometimes, arancini might even be sweet and stuffed with Nutella. (Yeah, that's what we said. Fried risotto balls stuffed with Nutella.)

Next time you make risotto, save some for arancini. You won't regret it.

1
Arancini With Sage
Martha Stewart
Get the Arancini With Sage recipe from Martha Stewart
2
Three Cheese Arancini Di Riso
Best Friends For Frosting
Get the Three Cheese Arancini Di Riso recipe from Best Friends For Frosting
3
Bacon And Cream Cheese Arancini
Buns In My Oven
Get the Bacon And Cream Cheese Arancini recipe from Buns In My Oven
4
Toasted Pistachio-Cheese Arancini
Ditte Isager/Food&Wine
5
Supplì Alla Romana
Italian Food Forever
Get the Supplì alla Romana recipe by Italian Food Forever
6
Citrus Arancine
Macheesmo
Get the Citrus Arancine recipe by Macheesmo
7
Mozzarella Arancini
Just A Taste
Get the Mozzarella Arancini recipe by Just A Taste
8
Fresh Corn Arancini
Macheesmo
Get the Fresh Corn Arancini recipe by Macheesmo
9
Crispy Boursin Arancini
The Endless Meal
Get the Crispy Boursin Arancini recipe from The Endless Meal
10
Arancini
bell'alimento
Get the Arancini recipe from bell'alimento
11
Arancini alla Siciliana
Bell'alimento
Get the Arancini alla Siciliana recipe by Bell'alimento
12
Jambalaya Arancini
Stephanie Hua, Lick My Spoon
Get the Jambalaya Arancini recipe by Stephanie Hua, Lick My Spoon
13
Prosciutto Arancini
Foodie With Family
Get the Prosciutto Arancini recipe from Foodie With Family
14
Pumpkin And Goat Cheese Arancini
My Daily Morsel
Get the Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Arancini recipe by My Daily Morsel
15
Meyer Lemon Arancini
Taste With The Eyes
Get the Meyer Lemon Arancini recipe by Taste With The Eyes
16
Baked Mozzarella-Stuffed Arancini
Food For My Family
Get the Baked Mozzarella-Stuffed Arancini recipe by Food For My Family
17
Easy Lobster Arancini
The Suburban Soap Box
Get the Easy Lobster Arancini recipe from The Suburban Soap Box

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