The eternal dilemma: Arancina or Arancino?

A staple of Sicilian cuisine that Sicilians consider just a snack, it’s a must eat if you visit Sicily.
But why this name? The diatribe lasted for decades, in the western part it’s male, arancina, while in the eastern front it’s a female, arancino, anyhow known all over the world as rice-ball.
It has a round shape in the western part of the island, and a pointed one in the eastern part, so that someone says the conical shape has been inspired by the volcano Etna.
The origin of this dish goes back to the Arab domination, between the ninth and eleventh centuries. In fact, Arabs used to roll up a little saffron rice in the palm of their hand, and then season it with lamb meat. Traditionally it’s the food for the feast of Santa Lucia, on December 13th, when bread and pasta are not eaten in the island. This commemorates the arrival of a grain supply ship on Santa Lucia’s day in 1646, relieving a severe famine in the whole Island.
Arancina is a diminutive of arancia, orange. The name, which is translated as “little orange”, derives from the shape and color which, after cooking, remind you of an orange.

Practically we are talking about rice balls stuffed, coated with breadcrumbs and deep fried. The most common fillings are ragù filled (meat slow cooked at low temperature with tomato sauce and spices) or with prosciutto and mozzarella. Over the years arancine have become a popular food in Italy and abroad, and thanks to chef’s innovations, many more savories have been created, including sweet ones like with chocolate or pistachio.
In Italian literature, Commissario Montalbano, the main character of Andrea Camilleri’s detective novels, is a passionate lover of arancini especially those made by Adelina, his housekeeper and cook (name of the book Gli arancini di Montalbano). It is said that Frederick II of Swabia, King of Sicily, forced into wars and long journeys, traveled with crispy arancine in his tow.
I would like to suggest two historic places, known throughout Sicily for their arancine, in Palermo Pasticceria Spinnato,  and in Catania Pasticceria Savia  and you will be the one to judge which of the two slopes will win.
We would pair the arancine with the following wines:
Sicilia Brut D.O.C. Terzavia Metodo Classico Marco De Bartoli for arancina
Etna Bianco Superiore D.O.C. Affiu Eredi Di Maio for arancino

Of course, we will never be able to solve this dilemma about the name, but the thing that we agree upon is their goodness, no matter if male or female!

Here is my recipe (western stile shape) to make 15 arancine:
For the risotto:
Rice, preferably Arborio 500 gr. (2.5 US cups)
Vegetable stock 1,250 liters (5 US cups)
1 powdered saffron sachet or saffron stigmas
A pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper

For the filling:
250 gr. of pastry/double zero flour (1 US cup)
300 ml of water (1 cup)
250 grams of breadcrumbs (2 1/3 US cups)

750 ml of peanut oil (3. Cups) to fry

For the ragù filling:
Meat sauce ragù with peas

For the prosciutto and mozzarella filling:
1 pound of fiordilatte mozzarella
1 pound of a thick slice of ham

Directions
First thing prepare your own vegetable stock. Put the vegetables in the pot while the water is cold, to let them release all their flavor as it comes to a boil. Use carrots, zucchini, potatoes, spinach, tomato, celery and onion. You can use all of them and more. But you can also make a simpler broth with only carrots, zucchini and celery. Let it cook for about 45 min and filter to eliminate any residue.

Do your own ragù and let it rest overnight.

Put the broth on the stove, bring to boil and add the rice. You’ll have to wait for the rice to absorb all the water and never mix it!
After about 15 minutes the water will be completely absorbed and the rice will be perfectly cooked. Add the ground pepper, season with salt and mix everything well. Spread on a baking sheet and let it rest overnight.

With the ragù filling form spheres of the size of a golf ball, in case of prosciutto and mozzarella put the same quantity of ham and mozzarella together as big as a golf ball.

To form the arancine, anoint your hands with a little bit of oil or water, take the rice with one hand and spread it well on the palm of the other hand. Make a hollow in the rice and fill it with a ball of stuffing. Close the rice at the edges on itself. Complete the ball by adding rice on the top and knead it with your hands until the sauce is completely incorporated and the result will be a perfect ball. Obviously you can choose the shape you want to give it, whether round or conical.

Inside a bowl, make the glue, mix the water and flour that you will use to seal the arancine. Dip them well, one at a time, in the batter of water and flour made previously, let them drain for a few minutes on a grill. Coat the arancine in the breadcrumbs and let it compact for at least 20 minutes.

In abundant boiling oil, fry until golden brown.

Enjoy

For any further information contact me on
stefaniamontalbano@carlozucchetti.it

Spinnato dal 1860

lnx.savia.it

www.marcodebartoli.com

Eredi Di Maio

www.eredidimaio.it

Osteria 4Archi 
www.4archi.it
Milo