Arancini - Sicilian Fried Rice Balls with homemade chicken stock

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade chicken stock ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Put the chicken, the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, bay leaves and peppercorns and the water in a pot and bring to a boil. Skim off the foam that rises during the first 15 minutes with a spoon.

   StovePot
2. 2
   Turn down and simmer gently 2.5–3 hours.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
3. 3
   Strain the stock.

   Colander

For the Cooked rice

1. 4
   In a pot, bring the chicken stock and saffron to a boil, add the rice and stir once.

   StovePot
2. 5
   Turn down to low, cover and simmer about 18 minutes without opening the lid, until the liquid is absorbed.

   StoveLid
3. 6
   Turn off the heat and leave covered 5–10 minutes.

   💡Don't open the lid during cooking: the steam is what cooks the top layer. A towel between the pot and the lid absorbs the drips, so the rice doesn't get soggy.

For the Crispy Coating

1. 7
   Beat the eggs in a wide bowl.

   Bowl

   💡Work with one "dry" hand for the dry coating and one "wet" hand for the egg, so your fingers don't get caked in layers of coating.
2. 8
   Spread the crumbs on another flat plate.

To assemble

1. 9
   Transfer the rice to a bowl and chill in the fridge 1 hour, until completely cold.

   BowlRefrigerator
2. 10
   In a bowl, mix the rice, now cold, with the Parmesan, eggs, salt and black pepper.

   Bowl
3. 11
   With wet hands, take tbsp of the mixture, place a mozzarella cube in the center with a teaspoon of the tomato paste, close the rice around it and roll into a ball.
4. 12
   Pass each ball through the coating stations in order, until well coated on all sides.
5. 13
   Heat the oil' in a deep pot' to 180°C (355°F) and fry the balls in batches for about 4 minutes, until golden. Transfer to paper towels.

   StoveSlotted spoonCandy/oil thermometerDeep pot for fryingPaper towels

   💡Keep the oil at 170–180°C: too cold, and the food soaks up oil; too hot, and it browns outside before the inside cooks. Without a thermometer, dip the tip of a wooden spoon in the oil: when medium bubbles form around it right away, the oil is hot enough.

   💡Don't overload the oil: every piece that goes in cools it down. Fry one piece as a test, then the rest in several batches, and transfer to paper towels.
6. 14
   Serve hot with tomato sauce.