- [Natasha] Hi everyone, it's Natasha
of natashaskitchen.com and I am so,
so excited to share these Italian
arancini rice balls with you.
These are crisp on the outside, creamy, cheesy and gooey
on the inside with all the melty cheese.
They are irresistibly good, ugh so good.
We're gonna start with the rice
and you'll need a large, heavy pot with a tight fitting lid.
Place that over medium-high heat and add two tablespoons
of olive oil and two tablespoons of butter.
Once the butter is done sizzling,
add one cup of diced onion and saute for about 4-5 minutes
or until soft and golden.
Add one cup of finely diced ham and saute another 2 minutes.
Stir in 2 cups of dry white rice
and I'm using a long grain jasmine rice.
Stir just to coat the rice in the oil,
then add one cup of dry white wine,
and I'm using a Chardonnay.
Boil that down for about 2 minutes,
or until it's mostly evaporated,
then add 5 cups of hot, low sodium chicken broth.
Next add one teaspoon of salt, then bring it to a simmer,
cover and cook for about 15-17 minutes
or until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice.
(upbeat music)
Now, gently stir in one cup of thawed, frozen peas.
Cover and continue cooking for another 2 minutes.
When it's done, the rice should be
very moist, soft, and most of the liquid will be absorbed.
Take it off the heat and transfer the rice
to a large casserole dish
or a large rimmed baking sheet and let it cool.
Once the rice is cooled down to room temperature
stir in one-third cup of finely chopped fresh parsley
and one cup of shredded Parmesan cheese.
Mix until well combined
and now you are ready to form your rice balls.
And I find it so much easier to portion these
using a trigger release ice cream scoop.
You'll need a heaping scoop full for each rice ball.
Place a half inch cube of mozzarella cheese into the center
then roll it tightly into a ball.
And if you keep your hands wet,
it is much easier to roll these into balls
because the rice will not stick to your hands.
Once the rice balls are stuffed and tightly rolled
we can set up our breading stations.
You'll need three shallow bowls.
The first bowl has one and a half cups of flour.
In the second, thoroughly beat three large eggs.
And in the third bowl,
you'll need one and half cups dry Italian bread crumbs.
Dip the rice balls, one at a time.
First in the flour, tapping off the excess.
Then in the egg making sure to thoroughly coat and
finally into the bread crumbs.
Repeat the process with the remaining arancini.
Because these cook really fast in oil,
you want to have all the arancini balls
prepped and ready to go before you heat the oil.
Place a large pot over medium heat and add one inch of oil.
Make sure the oil is hot and has reached 350 degrees
Fahrenheit before adding the rice balls.
Cook the rice balls in batches
so you aren't crowding the pot.
You want to cook these for about three minutes total,
turning them halfway
to ensure that all sides are a beautiful golden brown.
When they're done, transfer them
to a paper towel lined platter
and repeat with the next batch.
(laughing)
Who is ready for this taste test?
Oh and right as soon as they come out of the oil
I love to add a little sprinkle of salt.
Try this trick on anything that you fry.
That little sprinkle of salt just makes it so much better.
You'll see.
All right, so I love to enjoy these while they are warm
because that melty cheese inside
is gooey and just ooh delicious.
So we're gonna go right into this taste test,
and you can serve these just by themselves, they're so good
or dip them in marinara.
And I do have a recipe for homemade marinara
if you would like it, I'll leave it in the comments.
So here we go.
Actually I just want to show you what's inside first
because I think you'll get excited.
Look at this.
Ohh...
(laughing)
Oh yes. And admittedly, I am a melted cheese freak.
(laughing)
And so are my kids, cause they're related to me.
Okay here we okay, I'm gonna bite right into this
because I can not wait any longer.
Here we go.
Mmmm...mmmm.....mmmmm
Whoa.
Now that is a cheese pull.
Yum.
Oh my goodness.
This is completely worth the effort.
These are so delicious.
I love that they're crisp and crunchy on the outside
and then the rice is so moist and tender,
loaded with little bits of ham and the sweet peas.
Ugh, it's just like a surprise inside.
I love the melty cheese.
I love, love, love the melty cheese.
And, you cam make these and refrigerate them for a few days
or freeze them and then crisp them up in the oven.
These are such a treat.
And it's kind of like a meal, my kind of meal.
Rice, protein, vegetables, right? Right?
These are so good, I hope you guys love them
and make them. Because you make them once
and you'll make them over and over.
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These arancini are, I hope I pronounced that right,
classic Italiano.
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