Arancini Italian Appetizer

I found a recipe for an appetizer called Arancini its an italian rice ball. The name Arancini is Italian meaning little Orange. It is made from Saffron rice stuffed with cheese and ham then dredged in italian bread crumbs and fried. They are very tasty and fairly easy to make. I think the recipe I used can be improved upon by adding in some other spices or maybe some Onions finly chopped. I also think the ham woul be better if it were diced into small peices and mixed into the rice instead of being a solid peice folded into the center. That way you would get the ham flavor in every bite. This is a work in progress. I think they would be great with some type of dipping sauce. Maybe a Tziki sauce (not sure of spelling) or a sauce made from berrys that is a little tart such as black berry or raspberry.

Here is the recipe I followed.

1 10 oz. pckg of yellow saffron rice

1 cup Riccota cheese

1 cup Mozzarella cheese shredded

1"x1" pcs of cooked ham about 1/4" thick, enough for 1 pcs per square

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cups Italian bread crumbs

Oil for frying (deep fry)

Prepare Rice as specified on pckg. After cooking rice mix in the riccota cheese and then spread on a baking sheet to about 1/2" thick layer. Cover with plastic and let cool. Once cooled cut into 3"x3" square pcs., a 9x15 baking sheet will make 15 pcs. Place ham in center of each square. Place a good pinch of the Mozzarella on top of the ham. Now for the messy part. Use a spatula and pick up each square and place in hand. Carefully form each square into a ball. they will be a little amaller than a baseball. After each peice has been made into a ball mix the eggs and milk together. Dip each peice into the egg wash and then roll in the bread crumbs. Heat oil in large boiler to 325 degrees. Drop in 4 at a time and cook until browned. Roll them around to keep the bottoms from getting to dark. Remove with spyder or slotted spoon and let drain on paper towels or cooling rack over towels.

I think next time I make them I am going to playaround with some other ingredients. They deffinitly need salt and pepper to taste added to recipe. Who knows we will see what next time brings.