We had the crazy idea to make Aranchini.... I say crazy because it is a lot of work so only do this if you really want to impress someone. There is one thing I have to say, they are a lot of fun to make with people!
I said it is a lot of work but they are not difficult to make, you need to be good with your hands and also a good deep-frier, if you can't fry them properly you'll end up with oily balls.
Before you read the whole post I will just briefly explain what you need to do so that you can decide whether you want to embark on this long journey to deliciousness. You need to make:
-the filling.
-the rice, which needs to cool before you can manipulate it.
-the batter
-make balls of rice and then make a whole in them to put the filling in.
-dunk them in the batter and then in bread-crumbs
-deep-fry them
-eat them!!
If that hasn't put you off continue reading...
I got this recipe from Giorgio Locatelli's Made in Sicily and then I made it vegan by changing the filling for Jamie's Caponata recipe. This recipe makes around 10 hand-sized balls.
Ingredients:
-For the filling:
I made a caponata but you can fill it with anything you like, it depends on how 'traditional' you want to be, I personally think it would be quite nice with left over chilli...)
-1 nice purple aubergine, cut into small chunks
- half a tablespoon of dried oregano
-1 small red onion, finely slized
-1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
-a small bunch of fresh parsley, the leaves picked and the stalks chopped
-1 tablespoon of salted capers, rinsed, soaked and drained
-about half a handful of green olives, stones removed
-1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
-3 large ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
-For the rice:
It is a good idea to make the rice the day before, that way you can just let it cool in the fridge.
1.6 litres of stock
500 g of arborio rice
5 g of salt
a pinch of saffron (I'll tell you a trick so that you can get even more flavor out of it!)
-For the batter (pastella):
350g plain flour
+ bread-crumbs and about a bottle and a half of vegetable oil.
Method:
Bring the stock to a boil in a pan, add the rice, salt and saffron (to get all the flavour out of the saffron put a pinch in a glass and put it in the microwave for a few second and break in the glass). Bring back to the boil and cook very slowly for at least 15 min, until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat, leave it to cool. (Remember if you want you can leave it to cool over night).
Prepare the filling: In a pan add a couple of lugs of olive oil, and place on the heat. Add the aubergine and oregano and season with a bit of salt. Toss it around so that it is evenly coated in the oil. Cook on a high heat for around 4-5 min until it is golden on all sides. Remember to give it a shake every now and then. Add the onion, garlic and parsley stalks and continue cooking for another couple of min. Add more oil if you feel it is too dry. Add in the olives, capers and vinegar. Once the vinegar has evaporated add the tomatoes and simmer for 10 min or until tender. Check the seasoning and add more salt, pepper or vinegar if necessary. If there is too much liquid let it cook for a bit longer.
Let it cool.
For the pastella, mix water and a bit of salt with the flour. The trick is too add water little by little until you get the desired texture. It needs to be quite liquid so that you can coat the balls of rice easily. I know this mixture makes a lot of batter but it makes it a lot easier to to dunk the balls in it.
Once you have everything, put breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl. Wet your hands so that the rice doesn't stick to you hands; then make tangerine sized balls of rice and press your thumb in the centre to make a hollow. Spoon in a little of the filling, then close the rice around it and form it into a ball. It takes a bit of work and patience, I made them with my mother and brother and the ones my mother made hardly had any filling at all! Dip each one into the batter and the the breadcrumbs. making sure they are completely covered in crumbs and pressing them slightly, to make sure the crumbs stick.
Heat the oil in a pan, I used a very deep one to avoid burning my self, and I had to use around a bottle and a half of vegetable oil so that it would cover the aranchini. The oil should be hot, but not smoking, before you add the aranchini. Here is where being a good deep-frier comes in, my mother said that I am good at it because I am half-Spaniard... Fry the aranchini in batches, for around 4-5 min until they are golden all-over. Drain well on kitchen paper and serve hot. (I like them cold too, I had them for my breakfast too...)
PS: A tip if you are making them with people is to work in a chain. My brother made the rice balls with the filling, my mother dunk them in the pastella and the breadcrumbs and I fried them, and ate them.
Another tip: For the filling, if you are lazy like me you might want to try making the aubergine in the microwave first, you need less oil afterwards, and it is easier and quicker. Put the whole aubergine in the microwave poking it with a fork first, so that it doesn't explode. Heat it for 3 min, check it and heat for another 2-3 min. Then choop it and add it in the pan coating it with a little bit of oil and the oreano cook for a min and add the chopped onion etc..
About that Purple Salad:
It's also form Locatelli's book, and it's called Insalata di rinforzo. I just ignored the anchovies and the egg, it really really didn't need them because it was a really good salad.
Ingredients: serves 4
-1 head of cauliflower, it doesn't have to be purple of course I just thought it was fun but it would look nice with the green spiky looking ones too.
-salt and pepper
-about 40 kalamata olives (black olives just don't do the trick)
-1 tbsp of olive oil
-1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
-1 tsp of dried chilli flakes (or to taste)
-2 spring onion
-2 tsp of garlic and parsley, smash the garlic with the flat part of a knife so that it becomes paste, put the parsley on top and cut at the same time that you cut the garlic.
Method:
Cut the cauliflower into florets. Bring a a pan of boiling salted water to the boil, add the florets and blanch for 2 min. Drain and leave to cool.
Drain the olives and pat dry and chop them and remove the stone.
To make the dressing, whisk the olive oil and vinegar in a small bowl and add the chilli flakes. Put the spring onions, olives and cauliflower into a serving bowl and toss with the dressing. Sprinkle with the parsley and garlic, and serve!
I said it is a lot of work but they are not difficult to make, you need to be good with your hands and also a good deep-frier, if you can't fry them properly you'll end up with oily balls. Before you read the whole post I will just briefly explain what you need to do so that you can decide whether you want to embark on this long journey to deliciousness. You need to make:
-the filling.
-the rice, which needs to cool before you can manipulate it.
-the batter
-make balls of rice and then make a whole in them to put the filling in.
-dunk them in the batter and then in bread-crumbs
-deep-fry them
-eat them!!
If that hasn't put you off continue reading...
I got this recipe from Giorgio Locatelli's Made in Sicily and then I made it vegan by changing the filling for Jamie's Caponata recipe. This recipe makes around 10 hand-sized balls.
Ingredients:
-For the filling:
I made a caponata but you can fill it with anything you like, it depends on how 'traditional' you want to be, I personally think it would be quite nice with left over chilli...)
-1 nice purple aubergine, cut into small chunks
- half a tablespoon of dried oregano
-1 small red onion, finely slized
-1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
-a small bunch of fresh parsley, the leaves picked and the stalks chopped
-1 tablespoon of salted capers, rinsed, soaked and drained
-about half a handful of green olives, stones removed
-1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
-3 large ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
-For the rice:
It is a good idea to make the rice the day before, that way you can just let it cool in the fridge.
1.6 litres of stock
500 g of arborio rice
5 g of salt
a pinch of saffron (I'll tell you a trick so that you can get even more flavor out of it!)
-For the batter (pastella):
350g plain flour
+ bread-crumbs and about a bottle and a half of vegetable oil.
Method:
Bring the stock to a boil in a pan, add the rice, salt and saffron (to get all the flavour out of the saffron put a pinch in a glass and put it in the microwave for a few second and break in the glass). Bring back to the boil and cook very slowly for at least 15 min, until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat, leave it to cool. (Remember if you want you can leave it to cool over night).
Prepare the filling: In a pan add a couple of lugs of olive oil, and place on the heat. Add the aubergine and oregano and season with a bit of salt. Toss it around so that it is evenly coated in the oil. Cook on a high heat for around 4-5 min until it is golden on all sides. Remember to give it a shake every now and then. Add the onion, garlic and parsley stalks and continue cooking for another couple of min. Add more oil if you feel it is too dry. Add in the olives, capers and vinegar. Once the vinegar has evaporated add the tomatoes and simmer for 10 min or until tender. Check the seasoning and add more salt, pepper or vinegar if necessary. If there is too much liquid let it cook for a bit longer.
Let it cool.
For the pastella, mix water and a bit of salt with the flour. The trick is too add water little by little until you get the desired texture. It needs to be quite liquid so that you can coat the balls of rice easily. I know this mixture makes a lot of batter but it makes it a lot easier to to dunk the balls in it.
Once you have everything, put breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl. Wet your hands so that the rice doesn't stick to you hands; then make tangerine sized balls of rice and press your thumb in the centre to make a hollow. Spoon in a little of the filling, then close the rice around it and form it into a ball. It takes a bit of work and patience, I made them with my mother and brother and the ones my mother made hardly had any filling at all! Dip each one into the batter and the the breadcrumbs. making sure they are completely covered in crumbs and pressing them slightly, to make sure the crumbs stick.
Heat the oil in a pan, I used a very deep one to avoid burning my self, and I had to use around a bottle and a half of vegetable oil so that it would cover the aranchini. The oil should be hot, but not smoking, before you add the aranchini. Here is where being a good deep-frier comes in, my mother said that I am good at it because I am half-Spaniard... Fry the aranchini in batches, for around 4-5 min until they are golden all-over. Drain well on kitchen paper and serve hot. (I like them cold too, I had them for my breakfast too...)
Another tip: For the filling, if you are lazy like me you might want to try making the aubergine in the microwave first, you need less oil afterwards, and it is easier and quicker. Put the whole aubergine in the microwave poking it with a fork first, so that it doesn't explode. Heat it for 3 min, check it and heat for another 2-3 min. Then choop it and add it in the pan coating it with a little bit of oil and the oreano cook for a min and add the chopped onion etc..
About that Purple Salad:
It's also form Locatelli's book, and it's called Insalata di rinforzo. I just ignored the anchovies and the egg, it really really didn't need them because it was a really good salad.
Ingredients: serves 4
-1 head of cauliflower, it doesn't have to be purple of course I just thought it was fun but it would look nice with the green spiky looking ones too.
-salt and pepper
-about 40 kalamata olives (black olives just don't do the trick)
-1 tbsp of olive oil
-1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
-1 tsp of dried chilli flakes (or to taste)
-2 spring onion
-2 tsp of garlic and parsley, smash the garlic with the flat part of a knife so that it becomes paste, put the parsley on top and cut at the same time that you cut the garlic.
Method:
Cut the cauliflower into florets. Bring a a pan of boiling salted water to the boil, add the florets and blanch for 2 min. Drain and leave to cool.
Drain the olives and pat dry and chop them and remove the stone.
To make the dressing, whisk the olive oil and vinegar in a small bowl and add the chilli flakes. Put the spring onions, olives and cauliflower into a serving bowl and toss with the dressing. Sprinkle with the parsley and garlic, and serve!
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