The Man of Mode whipped up a large batch of risotto for lunch today, with some fresh peas found at the grocers.
There was plenty of rice left over, so I decided to try making arancini. This is street food, Sicilian style: balls of rice, usually with a savory filling, then rolled in breadcrumbs and fried. Arancini means "little oranges", and the finished product is a similar size and shape (and colour) to the fruit.
The last time I had arancini was in a down-at-heel cafe in Catania, after a slow journey from Palermo. They're a great snack.
The most common fillings in Sicily are meat (arancino con ragu) and mozzarella. I used a bit of taleggio cheese, which was left over in my fridge from another meal, and which worked nicely.
I improvised a recipe, but if you want to follow instructions, there's a decent looking recipe on the Waitrose website.
