Rice Arancini Recipe Gluten Free and Vegetarian

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Arancini are a tradition in the South of Italy. They are risotto balls filled with cheese and/or meat, coated with breadcrumbs and fried. To make them gluten-free I replace the breadcrumbs with 3 different ingredients and do some testing.

What are arancini

Arancini are fried risotto rice balls mixed with vegetables, cheese and sometimes meat. Crunchy and crispy in the outside, soft and stringy cheese in the inside. You can find them everywhere in Italy, mostly in the South, in Rome they are called Suppli’ and usually have no meat.

It is a great way to use your leftover risotto, but most people (me) just make them from scratch as they are so good and easy to serve at parties and buffet. They are always a winner.

Arancini are traditional in Sicily, even Camilleri has dedicated an entire book in the Ispettore Montalbano series: Montalbano’s Rice Croquettes.

If you happen to fly into Catania airport Fontana Rossa, you can find many varieties at a famous rosticceria: Caffe Parisi, one of the best places for arancini. They make them with meat ragu, eggplants, pistachios. They are definitely worth a trip.

Another excellent place to eat Arancini is on the ferry crossing the Messina strait, Caronte boat. They are made on a cone shape and when you open them you will have a delicious warm melting mozzarella.

Many types of arancini

The classic arancini can be red or white, meaning the rice is cooked only with stock, stock and Saffran or stock and tomato sauce. It can be filled with either a bolognese sauce, mushrooms, eggplants, ham anything you would like.

There are so many ways to make arancini. However, one thing you will be sure, always a cube of melted mozzarella cheese in the centre.

The key to its success is to use quality rice, and with ‘Riso Gallo’ you cannot go wrong. They are one of the oldest Italian rice producers and the largest producer in Europe. They have been operating since 1856, and their rice is available in most European supermarkets.

The rice can be prepared like risotto, or simply boiled in water or in stock. Some recipes mix the rice with eggs before forming the arancini, others don’t. There are many versions, this is the recipe I always make with great success.

First, prepare the rice

1. Stir fry the onion with 30 gr of butter at very low heat, the onion should not burn.
2. Once the onion becomes translucent, add the rice and increase the heat. The rice has to toast in the butter so that the grains are sealed. Proceed to cook like a risotto.
3. You can either add the tomato sauce to the rice or the saffron to the stock
4. The rice should be continually stirred and stock added regularly 1 or 2 ladles at a time. Cook for 15 minutes.
5. Once cooked, let it cool down at room temperature.

An easier option to consider is adding all the stock at once, and boil the rice for 15 minutes until the stock is completely absorbed. Keep it covered and add hot water if necessary.

Preparing the Arancini

1. Then mix the rice with peas, 2 eggs and parmesan cheese
2. Roll the rice into balls to fit into the palm of your hand.
3. Place a piece of mozzarella cheese inside, and ham if you are not making the vegetarian version.

Cooking the Arancini

4. First roll the balls in beaten eggs, then in breadcrumbs.
5. Deep fry them and you can warm them up in the oven just before your party or served them at room temperature.

How to make a gluten-free Arancini

To make a gluten-free version of the Arancini, you need to substitute the breadcrumbs with a gluten-free option. This prompted me to experiment a little, so I came up with these solutions. You can use gluten-free bread or panko, however, the following may be a better option:

1. Grated almonds
2. Sesame seeds
3. Rice cakes

You can find Gluten-free rice cake in the supermarkets’ bio section. They can be grated at home in a mixer and used instead of breadcrumbs for coating. Once fried they are very similar to breadcrumbs and you would hardly notice the difference.

The outcome

I tested these 3 options and they all had a great result. You can choose one, or make them all and create a colourful buffet.

My favourite? The almond coated

If you are making these gluten-free arancini leave your comment below I would like to know which one is your favourite. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.

More recipes to make with leftover risotto

If you want an easy and simple version of the arancini, you can try this Rice Balls recipe. But if you want to make a more challenging recipe, you should try the Rice Timbale

Rice Arancini Recipe Gluten Free and Vegetarian

Arancini are a tradition in the South of Italy. They are risotto balls filled with cheese and/or meat, coated with breadcrumbs and fried. #yourguardianchef #glutenfree #rice

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Resting time 1 hour

Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Servings: 8 people

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Author: Laura Tobin

Ingredients

For the Rice

• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 onion diced
• 1 lb Carnaroli rice Riso Gallo
• 6 cup homemade stock (chicken or vegetable stock)
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 pkg saffron optional
• 1 cup homemade tomato sauce optional

For the Filling

• 1 cup peas
• 1 cup mozzarella cucina cut in cubes
• 1 cup shredded ham optional
• 2 fresh eggs

For the Coating

• 2 fresh eggs
• 1.5 cup breadcrumbs
• 1.5 cup sesame seeds
• 1.5 cup grated almonds
• 7 rice cakes Riso Gallo gluten free rice cakes
• vegetable oil for frying

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Instructions

• Stir fry the onion with 30 gr of butter at very low heat, the onion should not burn.
• Once the onion becomes translucent, add the rice and increase the heat. The rice has to toast in the butter so that the grains are sealed.
• You can either add the tomato sauce to the rice or the saffron to the stock
• Proceed to cook like a risotto. The rice should be continually stirred and stock added regularly 1 or 2 ladles at a time. Cook for 15 minutes.
• Once cooked, let it cool down at room temperature.

Preparing the Arancini

• Then mix the rice with peas, 2 eggs and parmesan cheese
• Roll the rice into balls to fit into the palm of your hand.
• Place a piece of mozzarella cheese inside, and ham if you are not making the vegetarian version.

Coating the Arancini

• Beat 2 eggs and season with salt and pepper
• Grate the almond in a blender
• Grate the rice cakes in a blender
• Pour the 4 different coatings onto 4 different plates
• Divide the balls into 4 groups, one for each type of coating.
• First roll the balls into the beaten eggs, then in one of the coatings.
• Once all the balls have been coated with one of the four coatings (almond, breadcrumbs, rice cakes or sesame seeds), fry them.
• Eat them warm or warm them up in the oven just before your party or served them at room temperature.

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Notes

• An easier option to cook the rice is to add all the stock at once, and boil the rice for 15 minutes until the stock is completely absorbed. Keep it covered and add hot water if necessary.
• Make sure the rice is at room temperature when you add the eggs
• When you are rolling the rice balls, keep the palm of your hand wet with warm water. It will make them nice and smooth 
• Some recipe coat the rice balls with water and flour instead of egg, then breadcrumbs. You can do that if you don't want to add more eggs but it will not be gluten free
• You can shape them either in balls, in cones like in the ferry or oval. it is up to you
•  

Nutrition

Calories: 816kcal | Carbohydrates: 88g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 124mg | Sodium: 1376mg | Potassium: 525mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1130IU | Vitamin C: 13.9mg | Calcium: 517mg | Iron: 10mg

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