Italian recipes

Ham and mozarella arancini

Name: Ham and mozarella arancini
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 3 cup rice; 1/2 cup unsalted butter; 2 cup fresly grated Parmesan cheese; 4 eggs; 4 tbsp minced parsley; 1/2 lb mozzarella (diced); 1/2 lb sliced regular ham (finely chopped); All purpose flour (for coating the arancini); 2 eggs; Bread crumbs; Vegetable oil for frying; Salt & black pepper to taste

No ratings yet 50 min Serves 4 Italian

Italian rice and Parmesan cheese balls filled with mozarella and ham. A delicious snack or appetizer, great for any occation.

Ingredients

3 cup rice
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cup fresly grated Parmesan cheese
4 eggs
4 tbsp minced parsley
1/2 lb mozzarella (diced)
1/2 lb sliced regular ham (finely chopped)
All purpose flour (for coating the arancini)
2 eggs
Bread crumbs
Vegetable oil for frying
Salt & black pepper to taste

Method

Cook the rice in lots of boiling, slightly salted water. Drain and return to the cooking pot. Add the butter, grated Parmesan cheese and parsley and stir well to combine. Lightly beat the two eggs, add them to the rice mixture and stir well. Set aside and let cool to room temperature.

In another bowl combine the cubed mozzarella and ham.

When the rice has cooled down, beat the two additional eggs and season them with salt and pepper. Put the flour and breadcrumbs in two separate plates or bowls.

Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).

To make the arancini, take a handful of the rice mixture, place some of the mozarella and ham mixture into its center and shape it into a ball. (the ball should be 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter). Roll the arancino in the flour, dredge it in the beaten egg, then roll it in the breadcrumbs until it is completely coated. Set aside and repeat the process with the remaining rice and mozzarella filling.

Fry the arancini in batches in vegetable oil until golden brown all over. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Serve hot (reheat in the oven for a few minutes if necessary).

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Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total: 50 min
Serves: 4
Cuisine: Italian
Category: Italian recipes

Comments (1)

Liz Jul 23, 2010

The rice should be cooled before adding eggs and other ingredients. You have preheat oven and fry in batches, which is it? Recipe could be more specific. Needs to be rewritten. *** Editor's note Liz, adding the butter and mozzarella to cold rice may not be a good idea. If the rice is hot, the butter and mozzarella will melt and the rice mixture will be more uniform. Regarding the preheating of the oven, it is in case you need to reheat the arancini after frying them (it says so at the end of the recipe). If you fry the arancini in batches (which you probably will unless you have a very big frying pan), the first batch might get cold by the time the last one is ready; that's when you need the preheated oven. If you do not mind this you may skip the oven.

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