This Easy Mushroom Arancini in 2 Hours does take some time to prepare, but the steps are easy and the taste is worth the effort.
Mushrooms, shallots and fresh herbs are sauteed in butter and white wine, and blended with rice and cheese. A pearl of mozzarella is hidden in the center of each ball before they are coated in bread crumbs and fried to perfection. Enjoy these delicious little Sicilian arancini as either an appetizer or main course.
Jump to RecipeThe history of Sicilian Arancini
The exact origin of these delicious, stuffed rice balls isn’t known, but arancini (literally translated as little orange) are believed to have originated in Sicily around the 10th Century, when Moors dominated the region. Some of Sicily’s most beloved culinary traditions are credited to early Arabic, Greek and African influences – including arancini.
Arancini are stuffed with rice and different savory fillings of meat, seafood, vegetables and cheese, rolled in bread crumbs and fried until they are crisp and golden brown. They are most often served as an appetizer or snack, and depending on the region of Sicily, they may be shaped as either balls or cones, as I learned from an article found in Italy Magazine by Silvia Donati, titled, ‘Arancini’ Enters the Oxford English Dictionary. Prior to reading this article, I had only seen arancini in their round form, and found the cones to be quite an interesting variation.
This recipe for Easy Mushroom Arancini in 2 Hours are stuffed with a mushroom and rice filling that is held together by a combination of parmesan and shredded mozzarella cheese before being coated in crispy, panko bread crumbs and fried to a deep golden brown.
Easy Mushroom Arancini in 2 Hours – time well spent and a good way to use up leftover rice
It’s true that a fair amount of effort goes into preparing these delicious mushroom arancini, but each step is relatively simple. Time well spent, I say. It’s also a great way to use up that leftover white rice that’s been sitting in your refrigerator for a couple days. In fact, cold, day-old rice works better than fresh and warm. The cold rice grains retain their individual shape better, whereas warm rice tends to form a starchy glob. Using cold rice is key to achieving good texture.
As for mushrooms, In this recipe for Easy Mushroom Arancini in 2 Hours, I used a blend of Trumpet Royale, White Beech, Hon-shimeji, and Maitake mushrooms, but choose a variety of your favorites based on what’s available to you in the season. It’s important to chop the mushrooms up fine so that they will cook down evenly and work with the rice to form a cohesive ball once the cheese is added. If your mushroom pieces are too large, the arancini will not hold their shape, so chop them fine.
Forming, frying and finishing these tasty rice balls
With a little advanced prep work, you can take this Sicilian dish from a weekend treat to a quick weeknight meal. The filling can be prepped and the balls stuffed and rolled out a day or two before finishing them in the egg and bread crumb mixture and frying. Prepped balls can be stored in a covered, airtight container in the refrigerator overnight.
If you are planning to make these for a small gathering, working ahead in steps is a great way to break up the work. You can even complete the frying stage the night before and simply reheat them in the oven the next day at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes to restore their crisp, outer crust to its original glory. However, for best results, I recommend frying them earlier in the day and holding them in the oven at 170 degrees F for up to 2 hours before serving. Any longer and they will begin to dry out.
When finishing your arancini, it is important to have your three bowls of ingredients prepared in advance. The image above shows all three steps of this stage. The first bowl is filled with A.P. flour, the second with whisked eggs, and the third with plain panko breadcrumbs. This is the only step that cannot be done too far in advance as the breadcrumbs will absorb the moisture from the egg and lose their signature crispy texture.
Once the rice balls are rolled, dredged and ready to finish, begin to set up your frying stations. I’m left-handed so I tend to work from right to left, but as long as you maintain a safe setup and flow, do what feels natural to you. I like to keep my prepared rice balls to the right, the hot oil in the center and a lipped baking sheet lined with paper towels to my left. This is where the fried arancini are placed to drain and cool before serving.
In order to achieve that signature, crisp outer crust arancini are known for, use a deep, heavy bottom pan and a thermometer to ensure the oil temperature maintains a steady 350 degrees F. Do this, and you’ll get a crispy shell, while the inside remains light. If your oil temperature gets too low, the oil will seep into the center, resulting in a heavy, greasy and unpleasant filling.
Resist the temptation to load up the pan with arancini. If you add too many at once, the temperature of the oil will drop significantly and the arancini will become oil soaked in the center. Instead, only fry up 2-3 at a time. You’ll have an easier time maintaining the oil temperature.
Another tip is to use a slotted spoon to gently lower the arancini into the hot oil. This will give you the most control when retrieving them as well.
So how do you finish and serve these tasty morsels? That’s somewhat up to you. My absolute favorite way to enjoy these fried rice balls is by simply popping them in my mouth, but I have been known to dip them in a light tomato sauce a time or two.
I find most standard, canned pasta sauces available in the grocery are too heavy and overpowering for these delicately flavored fried rice balls. For this reason, I like to serve them with a side of my Best Spicy Sicilian Pasta Sauce. After all, one good Sicilian dish deserves the company of another, yes? However, if you have a local Italian market where you live, I’m sure you can find a good, light sauce to serve alongside this easy mushroom arancini recipe.
Easy Mushroom Arancini in 2 Hours
Course: MainCuisine: SicilianDifficulty: Easy6
servings1
hour30
minutes30
minutesThis recipe will yield 10 arancini when using a 1/4 cup scoop. Use slightly less for smaller, appetizer size balls, which will result in a yield of 12 arancini.
Ingredients
- For the filling
1/2 lb. mixed mushrooms, cleaned and chopped fine
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. shallots, finely chopped
1 tsp. fresh parsley, minced
1/2 tsp. fresh rosemary, minced
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme, minced
Scant 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Ground pepper to taste (approximately a scant 1/8 tsp.)
1/8 tsp. fresh lemon zest
1/4 cup pinot grigio or another mild white wine
2 cups cold, cooked white rice
1 Tbsp. fresh grated parmesan
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
10-12 mini pearls of mozzarella (measuring approximately 1/2 inch across)
- For finishing and frying the rice balls
1/3 cup A.P. flour
2 eggs, whisked
1 1/4 cups plain Panko breadcrumbs
32 ounces of vegetable oil for frying
A 5-quart, heavy bottom sauce pan and a thermometer, slotted spoon and tray lined with paper towels for draining the finished arancini.
Directions
- Preparing the filling and forming the rice balls
- In a large saute pan over medium heat, combine the water, butter, mushrooms and shallots. Cook until the mushrooms and shallots are tender and have cooked down to 1/3 their original size and the water has evaporated off. Approximately 10 minutes.
- Add the fresh herbs, salt, pepper and white wine to the mixture and continue to cook until the liquid has been absorbed and the mixture appears dry again. Turn off the heat and allow to cool 10 minutes.
- Add the cold rice to the mushroom mixture and incorporate. Stir in the parmesan and shredded mozzarella. The mixture should hold its shape in your hand when pressed together.
- Using a cookie scoop or a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop up a portion of the mixture. Using your index finger, poke a hole in the center of the scoop. Insert a mozzarella pearl and push the rice mixture over the top to cover the hole. Cup the mixture in your hand and gently squeeze to form a ball. Set the formed rice ball on a lined baking sheet and repeat the process until all the filling is used.
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap and chill the formed rice balls in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Finishing and frying the rice balls
- Pull the rolled arancini out of the refrigerator and set them aside.
- In three separate bowls (as shown above) measure out the A.P. flour, the two whisked eggs and the panko bread crumbs. Dredge the prepared rice balls in the flour first. Gently brush off any excess flour before dipping in the egg mixture. Finish the dipped rice balls by rolling them in the panko. Repeat the process until all the balls have been coated. Discard any unused flour, egg and panko.
- In a deep-sided, 5-quart sauce pan over medium heat, bring the temperature of the oil to 350 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with paper towels to drain the finished arancini. Set aside.
- Once the oil temperature has reached 350 degrees F, gently lower 2-3 of the coated arancini into the oil with a slotted spoon. Cook for 5 – 7 minutes until the arancini are a deep golden color. Remove the arancini with a slotted spoon and transfer to the paper towel lined tray to drain and cool.
- Continue to monitor the oil with a thermometer to maintain the proper temperature. Adjust the heat as needed and repeat the process until all the arancini are cooked.
- Serve warm with a mild sauce for dipping.
