Sausage Rice Balls

Makes 36 balls


Active time: 45 minutes


Start to finish: 3 hours, including 2 hours to chill mixture

VARIATIONS

Add 1/2 teaspoon crushed saffron to stock; the rice will take on a bright yellow color.

Cook 1/3 pound chopped wild mushrooms in 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and add them to risotto as it cooks.

Add 2 cups chopped fresh spinach or 1/2 of a 10-ounce package of frozen chopped spinach to risotto as it cooks.

Stir 1 cup pureed cooked asparagus into stock while making risotto.

Add 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (some combination of parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary) to risotto as it cooks.

Arancini means “little oranges” in Italian. These stuffed rice balls are a classic in Sicilian cooking. Make them when you have leftover risotto.

Risotto:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

2 cups arborio rice

3/4 cup white wine

5 cups Chicken Stock or purchased low-sodium stock, heated to just below simmer

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Rice balls:

1/4 pound Sweet Italian Sausage links, Italian Chicken and Olive Sausage links, or purchased sausage

2 large eggs

2 cups risotto, chilled

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

11/2 cups seasoned Italian breadcrumbs, divided

3 cups vegetable oil for frying

1. Place butter in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Add rice, and stir to coat with butter.

2. Raise the heat to high, add wine, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium, and ladle 1 cup hot stock over rice. Stir constantly and wait for rice to absorb stock before adding next 1 cup. Repeat with stock until all 5 cups have been absorbed; this should take 12 to 15 minutes.

3. Stir Parmesan into rice, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Scrape rice into a 9 x 13-inch baking pan, and chill for at least 2 hours.

4. While rice chills, preheat the oven broiler and line a broiler pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Prick sausages on all sides, and broil 4 to 6 inches from the broiler element for 5 to 7 minutes, or until cooked through and no longer pink, turning them with tongs to brown on all sides. Allow sausages to sit for 5 minutes, then cut them into 1/2-inch cubes, and set aside.

4. For rice balls, whisk eggs in a mixing bowl, and stir in risotto, cheese, and 1/2 cup breadcrumbs. Place remaining 1 cup breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl.

5. Measure out 1 tablespoon of rice mixture into your hand, and press a sausage cube into it. Top with another 1 tablespoon of rice mixture, and form into a ball; be careful to totally enclose sausage cube. Roll balls in breadcrumbs, and repeat until all of rice mixture is used.

6. Heat oil in a deep-sided saucepan or deep-fryer to a temperature of 375°F. Preheat the oven to 150°F, and line a baking sheet with paper towels.

7. Add rice balls, being careful not to crowd the pan. Cook rice balls for 3 to 4 minutes, or until browned. Remove rice balls from the pan with a slotted spoon, and drain well on paper towels. Keep fried rice balls warm in the oven while frying remaining balls. Serve immediately.

Note: The rice balls can be prepared for frying up to a day in advance and refrigerated, tightly covered. They can also be fried in advance; reheat them in a 400°F oven for 5 to 7 minutes or until hot and crusty again.