Strangely, almost every other place I crave and cannot imagine living without came from Eric Kraus, close friend of my brother Brian and later myself. We worked together for years and our lunch options got creative lest they get monotonous. We mourned the closing of Randolph St.'s strange, giant, sterile, and short-lived "Market" as we simply called it: an Italian grocer that had some choice hot grilled food and a ridiculous salad bar--the source from which I developed my true, lasting love affair with hard-boiled eggs simply but heavily salted and peppered. Eric loved the subsequent car rides, I know.
Another, more important Italian place that Eric introduced me to was Bari. Now I've heard the hubbub about Graziano's, but I continue to give my quick and convenient dinner-shopping and sandwich business to Bari. This place is no flash in the pan and so I feel as though I can give them my heart completely and not live in fear of their doors closing. The barese sausage, its casing filled with basil and garlic, is almost too flavorful to eat regularly. Their selection of fresh pasta, cheese, and cured meats remains second to none, in my opinion. I am half italian, but I never ate prosciutto, salami, or romano/parmesan cheeses like it was my job until about 8 years ago when I first walked into Bari for an italian sub. I rarely eat the sandwiches anymore, but their meatball with provolone or the sausage with sweet are both revelations. The meatballs, geniously sliced in half for easier face-jamming, are tucked into a slightly crusty but warm bread with marinara and thinly sliced provolone...see below.
Anyway, two doors west of Bari is D'Amato's Bakery, which supplies a lot of area restaurants with French and Italian loaves, rounds, etc. This, of course, is also where Bari sources the breads for their fine sammies. They also have an amazing selection of focaccia's and pizzas as well as sweets (cherry slices, cannoli) that are well worth checking into. Anyhow, I began heading into D'Amato's after Bari as part of my dinner shopping ritual-- rather Euro of me, to grab fresh things I intend to cook and enjoy that night, rather than hitting Strack or Costco for frozen things or skids of Ragu sauce. One fateful day at D'Amato's I decided to try what looked to be an oversized scotch egg or some bastardization of an empenada-- of course, it was an arancini filled with beef and peas. The arancini is essentially a risotto ball stuffed with any number of things-- most typically you will find beef or spinach and cheese-- and then rolled in bread cumbs and lightly fried. The resultant crust is more soft n' spongy than KFCextracrispy. Bridget and I have taken to grabbing a couple of these from D'Amato's every few months and have proceeded to serve them to (and melt the faces of) not a small number of dinner guests. Based on our love of these treats, we decided to give them a whirl and I'm happy to report that it was a smashing success and that they will become an integral part of our Italian repertoire. Here, with pictures, is the recipe for Arancini. Keep in mind that you can stuff the risotto with whatever meats or veggies or cheeses your little heart desires. Also bear in mind that this is rather time-consuming and labor-intensive-- so make sure you're armed to the teeth with Barolo or beer.
Ingredients:
2 Tblsp butter
olive oil
2 cups arborio (sp?) rice
6-8 cups water or chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
3/4 cup grated parm
2 eggs, beaten
olive oil
2 cups arborio (sp?) rice
6-8 cups water or chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
3/4 cup grated parm
2 eggs, beaten
Breadcrumbs
Optional Fillings:
Ground Beef & Peas
Spinach & Cheese (cubed Mozz or Ricotta)
Mushrooms
Sausage
Basil
Prosciutto
Here is our spread:
Instructions:
Get water simmering over med-high heat. (This will be added to risotto in another pot but needs to be hot)
Heat oil and butter and saute onions and garlic together for a few minutes, until transluscent and fragrant.
Heat oil and butter and saute onions and garlic together for a few minutes, until transluscent and fragrant.
Add some salt and pepper.
Add rice and stir around until toasty, about two minutes.
Rice toasting with sauteed onion and garlic:
Add wine and stir until mostly absorbed.
Add water/broth a ladle full at a time, stirring until the rice absorbs it before adding more. You may not need all the liquid, so start testing doneness as you cook.
Once risotto is done, transfer to a bowl to cool for 15 minutes or so.
Stir in cheese and beaten eggs once risotto is cool. Let cool some more in fridge until ready to form into balls.
Heat oil in a pan to 375 degrees (med-high)
Once you're ready to do the dirtywork, get your breadcrumbs in a bowl.
Dirtywork:
Form sticky risotto into your palm and load with any desired fillings, covering filling with more risotto and forming a ball. This doesn't need to be an exact science: some of ours were golfball-sized and others baseballs. Some filling was completely hidden inside while others resembled sloppy Lush bath bombs with spinach hanging out or sausage dotting the exterior. The important thing is to cover as much of the exterior with risotto, as that creates the glue to hold the breadcrumbs.
Cover risotto balls with breadcrumbs (panko works though we enjoyed italian-style) and drop into hot oil, turning every few minutes or until golden brown.
Drain excess oil when done, frying arancini in small batches
Once finished, serve with any sauce that sounds good with your particular brand of arancini.
Here is a shot of me preparing my famous red sauce, but since I have no actual recipe written that will have to wait for another day...
Enjoy! We certainly hope your arancini experience turns out-- but if it doesn't please know that you're always welcome to come over to our place and sit down to a piping hot plate of this:
