Red Wine Arancini

Arancini, better known as rice balls or risotto balls. This was the first time I took a stab at making them. The typical way to make Arancini is with a dry white wine, but of course I like to reinvent the wheel and use red wine instead. The red wine gives more depth in the arancini flavor profile, and it also gives a unique color to the rice. In my recipe, I stuff the risotto balls with mozzarella, but you can stuff with meat, prosciutto, sausage, peas, mushrooms, anything you want. I topped the arancini off with my meat sauce and extra parmigiano, but you can use plain pasta sauce if that's what you have readily available.

Preparing the arancini is a lot of work. One can argue that making risotto itself is complex, now add a few more steps after that and it's a big project. I recommend making these when you feel patient and have time to dedicate. They are time consuming, but oh so worth it!

Ingredients: Makes 7-8 Arancini

• 1 1/2 cups Arobo Rice
• 1/2 Red Onion, chopped
• 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 1 Cup Red Wine
• 6-8 cups Chicken Broth, as needed
• 2 tbs Butter
• 2 tbs Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
• 2 balls of Mozzarella, cubed
• Crushed Red Pepper, Salt, Cracked Black Pepper to season
• 3 stems of fresh Thyme, finely chopped
• 1 large stem of fresh Rosemary, finely chopped
• Handful of fresh Basil, Finley chopped
• 3 Eggs
• Flour
• Breadcrumbs
• Canola Oil
• Tomato Sauce
• Extra grated Parmigiano

Risotto:
In a separate, large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and add in olive oil. Add in onion, garlic, crushed red pepper and cook until translucent. Add rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to coat each grain. When rice begins to make a crackling sound, add the red wine. Stir constantly, letting the the wine cook off and the rice to absorb the wine.

After about 3 minutes, add in 1 ladle of the warm broth and stir until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Repeat this process, adding the remaining broth, one ladle at a time. Continue to stir, allowing the rice to absorb each addition of broth before adding more. About half way through, add in the chopped herbs.

After you add in your final ladle of broth, add in the grated parmiggiano and pecorino cheese and stir well until cheese is blended. 

Test the rice to see if it is done, and make sure all the liquid is absorbed.  Add additional salt and pepper as needed.  Set aside to cool in a separate bowl.

Arancini Preparation:
Set up: Crack two eggs into a bowl and beat with a fork. Put some flour and breadcrumbs on two separate plates. Have another clean plate ready to rest the arancini before cooking.

Crack the remaining egg into the cooled risotto and mix well.

Cup one tablespoon of risotto in one hand and add a few cubes mozzarella. Cup another tablespoon on top and form into a ball. Set on the clean plate and continue making the risotto balls with mozzarella in the middle.

Now, roll each ball into the flour, coating it very well. Next, dredge into the beaten eggs, one at a time. From the eggs, immediately roll the into the breadcrumbs, allowing a generous coating. Put back on the plate until you are ready to deep dry.

Heat the canola oil. You can use a deep fryer or sauce pan, make sure there is enough oil in the pan so that the arancini will be submerged. Fry a couple of arancini at a time for about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from oil and place on a plate lined with paper towel to absorb extra oil.

Serve with meat sauce and grated parmigiano on top. I also served these with a side of my garlic bread!