Week 1: Risotto, but make it fried.

Ciao Tutti!

This week, we head to the largest island in the Mediterranean sea. It is also the birth home of my Nonno, or for all of the non-Italians, my grandfather. And this week, I learned to cook two of my favourite Sicilian recipes - "arancini" and "sfincione," or in other words...carbs, carbs, and more carbs. Of course, you can find Sicily's famous cheese-filled rice balls in Italian restaurants all across North America. Still, I like to think the think-crust pizza topped with breadcrumbs is a Sicilian best-kept secret.

This week we will be focusing on the arancini! We will first go through the recipe for a classic Italian risotto. Feel free to stop there or continue on with me to use the risotto to make arancini.

No other region in Italy has as varied of history as Sicilia. Characterized by its mighty medley of flavours, Sicilian cuisine maintains its ties to the Greek, Roman, Arab, French, and Spanish civilizations that once roamed this beautiful island.

The island is incredibly fertile, so here you will find the freshest ingredients to flavour your dishes. Visit TheThinkingTraveller to learn more about Sicilia's complex history.

I hope you enjoy making these dishes as much as you will love eating them! Let's get cooking!

Disclaimer: The recipes found on this blog are best prepared when paired with a glass of Prosecco or red wine and Claudio Baglioni playing in the background.

Green Pea & Parmesan Risotto for the inside of the ARANCINI

---

To start off, I compiled all of the ingredients needed to make a delicious risotto. This will be the inside of the arancini! You can substitute green peas for another vegetable of your choosing, but green peas ("pisellini") are a Sicilian specialty! They also add a nice pop of colour to the dish.

Ingredienti

• extra virgin olive oil

• 1 shallot

• 1 cup arborio rice

• 1/3 cup of dry white wine (and an extra glass for yourself)

• 1/2 cup green peas (or another vegetable - I also love mushrooms)

• 3 cups of chicken broth/stock

• parmesan cheese

• 1 tbsp butter

• salt (to taste)

Ricetta

Once you have all of your ingredients ready, the first thing you want to do is put the chicken broth or stock into a pot and let it simmer on the stovetop. While it warms up, finely chop the shallot as seen below. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the bottom of a deep-sided frying pan or saucepan and turn it on to medium heat. Add in the shallots and sauté until golden brown (about 2 to 3 minutes).

Note: I almost burned my shallots so be sure to keep an eye on them instead of doom-scrolling on Instagram like me.

Once the shallots are golden brown, add in your rice and mix to coat the rice with the olive oil and shallots (about 2 minutes). Next, add in your white wine and mix. Turn up the heat to medium/high and allow the wine to absorb into the rice.

Now comes the trickiest part...

Turn down the heat to low (but not a simmer) and SLOWLY add in the chicken stock or broth using a ladle. Add enough broth to cover the rice each time, mix, and let it sit to absorb. Do not mix it too often but just enough so that the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pan. If it is sticking, check the temperature... it may be too high (...speaking from experience). Once you are about halfway through the broth, add in your green peas.

BE PATIENT! It will take some time to go through all 3 cups of broth, but the slower, the better.

Once all of the broth has been used and absorbed into the rice, add butter and parmesan cheese. Taste for salt and add accordingly. Set aside and allow the risotto to cool.

If you are using another vegetable, like mushrooms, I like to sauté them at the very beginning with the shallots.

FOR THE ARANCINI:

Ingredienti

• 2 large eggs

• flour

• breadcrumbs

• mozzarella (cut into small cubes)

• salt

• tomato sauce

• grape-seed oil

• risotto

Ricetta

Once the risotto has cooled down, compile all ingredients to make the arancini. Grab 3 bowls: add the eggs to one bowl and whisk, add flour to another bowl, and the breadcrumbs with a bit of salt to the last bowl.

Grab a small handful of risotto and roll it into a ball in your fist. Add a piece of mozzarella cheese to the middle and continue. Next, roll the risotto ball in the ingredients, beginning with flour, then the egg, and lastly, the breadcrumbs. Place on a plate and continue until all of the risotto is gone.

Add about an inch of grape-seed oil in a frying pan, covering the bottom completely. Turn stovetop to medium-high. Once the oil is hot enough, slowly add in the risotto balls one by one, being careful not to splash the oil on yourself. These cook very quickly, so once again, keep an eye on them. Once beginning to brown around the edges, flip over to the other side.

Remove arancini from the oil and serve with tomato sauce.

GET IN TOUCH:

Let me know if you try these recipes and how you enjoy them. Or, if you have your own twist on these classic Sicilian dishes, leave a comment below, and I will be sure to try them!

And be sure to send me pictures of you making these recipes on Instagram @ciao.tuttii or Twitter @crismackenziee :)

Buon Appetito!