Where did Italian rice balls come from?

The Arabs introduced or reintroduced rice to Sicily in the 10th century and arancini (rice balls) are one of many Southern Italian foods inspired by Arab agriculture and cuisine . Meet one of Southern Italy's most revered street foods, the arancina or rice ball.

What is the name of the typical Sicilian dish made of a stuffed rice ball?

Arancini (pronounced “aran-chini”) are a Sicilian street food made of risotto that's rolled into a ball, stuffed, breaded, and gently fried. You're going to love the crispy outside and creamy inside of these Italian snacks!

What is the difference between arancini and rice balls?

Although the preparation of arancini is very similar to that of supplì there are two significant distinctions. Arancini are generally considerably larger than supplì, about twice the size . An arancino is more likely to be stuffed with ragù (or peas and prosciutto) rather than having it incorporated into the rice.

What kind of rice are rice balls made of?

For onigiri that holds its shape well, it's important to use short-grain Japonica rice , such as “sushi” rice, a category that includes Calrose and Koshihikari rice and, as Sho notes, simply refers to varieties of rice preferred in Japan.

What does caponata mean in Italian?

Caponata (Sicilian: capunata) is a Sicilian dish consisting of chopped fried eggplant/aubergine and other vegetables, seasoned with olive oil, tomato sauce, celery, olives, and capers, in an agrodolce sauce .

Why do my arancini fall apart?

If it is not properly chilled , it will fall apart in the hot oil instead of forming crisp, glistening, orbs filled with molten cheese. Serve these arancini with warmed tomato sauce or even pesto, and crown them with a flurry of gremolata or plain lemon zest for brightness.

What are the main ingredients in arancini?

Rice Arancini / Main ingredient Rice is a cereal grain, and in its domesticated form is the staple food for over half of the world's human population, particularly in Asia and Africa, due to the vast amount of soil that is able to grow rice. Rice is the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa or, much less commonly, O. glaberrima. Wikipedia

When were Italian rice balls invented?

Arancini are said to have originated in 10th-century Sicily, at a time when the island was under Arab rule.

Who invented the rice ball?

The origin of the present form of onigiri dates back to the Heian Period , when there was a food called “Ton-jiki. ' Ton-jiki was brown rice packed firmly into an egg shape, and distributed to domestic servants as a token of appreciation during events at imperial or noble households.

When did rice balls originate?

They are said to have originated in Sicily in the 10th century during Arab rule. They served a large serving bowl of saffron-infused rice with plates of meat and vegetables shared between a table. “Rice balls” were breaded and fried, brought along on long trips since they were easily transportable and filling.

Vegan Stuffed Italian Rice Balls: How I Veganized My Husband's Family Recipe for Thanksgiving (2024)

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Did everyone have fun this Thanksgiving?We sure did! This was our first Thanksgiving since going vegan. As if this wasn’t challenging enough, we also traveled to our friends’ house in Panama City Beach, Fla.

What was the challenge, you might ask? Well, I had to make sure my husband and I had plenty of vegan food choices at the overall non-vegan Thanksgiving table our friends were planning to have.

To make that happen, I spent the entire afternoon on Wednesday cooking one vegan dish after another, and then packing the entire spread to travel. I know, people do that all the time for Thanksgiving, but honestly, this was my first time of doing that, so it seemed challenging.

Did we end up having enough vegan food? More than enough!

Clockwise from top left: sautéed kale, stuffed rice balls (today’s recipe!), curried butternut squash, stuffing, mashed potatoes, creamy mushroom gravy, Hippie Loaf fromLindsay Nixon’s Happy Herbivore Cookbook. This cookbook isa true lifesaver for any vegan person, especially around the holidays (stuffing and gravy also came from this book).

Everything was delicious, and the best part? Our omnivore friends liked my vegan creations a lot!

Here’s where things get interesting. My Italian mother-in-law has been making stuffed rice balls every Thanksgiving and Christmas for years. My husband Rob grew up loving them, so big holidays are incomplete for him unless the rice balls are present.

When we went vegan, he even told me that he would have to cheat on our diet with his favorite rice balls during the holidays! I smiled and nodded when he told me that,but deep inside I hoped that I would be able to eventuallyveganize his mom’s favorite recipe.

The family recipe that my mother-in-law uses calls for Carolina long-grain rice, meat or mozzarella cheese stuffing (meat gets mixed with pasta sauce), butter for making the rice sticky, and an egg wash for dipping the assembled balls prior to rolling them in bread crumbs.

The rice balls are then left in the fridge overnight, and deep-fried the following afternoon right before the big feast.

Vegan Stuffed Italian Rice Balls

A traditional Italian appeizer, these stuffed rice balls turn out to be a wonderful addition to a vegan holiday table! This recipe calls for vegan sausage, which can be bought in a store or made at home.

Ingredients

For the Rice:

1.5 cups uncooked long-grain white rice
3 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
Flax Egg: 2.5 Tbsp ground flaxseed + 5 Tbsp warm water

For the Stuffing:

2 cups vegan sausage, crumbled (I used homemade - see above - but you can find sausage crumbles in stores)
5-6 baby bella mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 cup or more marinara sauce

For the Eggwash:

1.5 cups almond milk
1/3 cup chickpea flour

To Finish:

1 cup or more vegan breadcrumbs
2-3 cups vegetable oil, for frying

Instructions

2 days before you're planning to serve the rice balls (see note* below), cook the rice: boil water and rice together on medium, letting all of the water to be absorbed by the rice. It's best if you let the rice overcook a little. You may need to add a little more water towards the end to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom.
Once the rice is cooked, let it cool a little while you're preparing the flax egg. To do that, just mix together the ground flax and warm water, let it sit for 5 min to thicken. Mix in the flax egg into the rice; stir to combine well. Cover the rice dish tightly with plastic wrap or a lid, put in the fridge overnight.
One day before serving the rice balls, make the stuffing and assemble the balls. To make the stuffing, sautee chopped mushrooms and onions until soft, then add them to crumbled sausage. Stir in marinara sauce. The mixture should look like thick bolognese sauce.
Assembling the rice balls: take a small handful of the rice mixture, press it in your hand to look like a little bowl. Put a small spoonful of the sausage mix into the center, then take a bit more of the rice, cover the stuffing, and shape the rice into a ball with the stuffing in the middle. Do not overstuff the balls! You may end up with a lot of stuffing left over (I did!), just freeze it and use later as makeshift bolognese sauce for pasta.
Once all of the balls are assembled, put together a breading station. In a small bowl, whisk together almond milk and chickpea flour until no clumps are left; put breadcrumbs into a separate small dish.
Dip each rice ball in the almond milk mix, then roll in the breadcrumbs until well coated. Put the breaded rice balls into a casserole dish lined with wax paper. Once all of the rice balls are assembled, cover the casserole dish and store in the fridge overnight.
The day of your big feast, take the rice balls out of the fridge 30 min before frying them. Heat up vegetable oil in a deep, thick-walled pan (the oil level should be enough to cover the rice balls by 3/4) - see notes below . When the oil is hot, drop the rice balls, 2-3 at a time, into the oil, cook for 4-6 min, turning them a few times to ensure even cooking. Once the breadcrumbs look golden brown, take the balls out and set on a dish lined with paper towels. Repeat with the rest of the rice balls. Let them cool slightly before digging in!

Notes

*Making rice balls is a three-day affair, which might seem like too long on regular days, but turns out to be no problem around holidays! A lot of holiday dishes are usually made in advance, and these rice balls only benefit from resting overnight.

**To make the things a little easier, we used a small cheap deep fryer that we bought specifically for making the rice balls a couple years ago. It does the job well, and you can do the frying away from the stovetop that's already loaded with other Thanksgiving pots and pans!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1 rice ball
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 1434Total Fat: 147gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 125gCholesterol: 44mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gProtein: 13g

Please note that the provided nutritional information data is approximate.

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