Arancini (, , , ) are Italian rice balls that are stuffed, coated with

breadcrumbs Bread crumbs or breadcrumbs (regional variants including breading and crispies) consist of crumbled bread of various dryness, sometimes with seasonings added, used for breading or crumbing foods, topping casseroles, stuffing poultry, thickeni ...

and

deep fried Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Norma ...

, and are a staple of Sicilian cuisine. The most common arancini fillings are: ''al ragù'' or ''al sugo'', filled with

ragù In Italian cuisine, ragù () is a meat-based sauce that is commonly served with pasta. An Italian gastronomic society, Accademia Italiana della Cucina, documented several ragù recipes. The recipes' common characteristics are the presence of mea ...

(meat or mince, slow-cooked at low temperature with tomato sauce and spices),

mozzarella Mozzarella (, ; nap, muzzarella ) is a southern Italian cheese traditionally made from Italian buffalo's milk by the pasta filata method. Fresh mozzarella is generally white but when seasoned it turns to a light yellow depending on the anim ...

caciocavallo Caciocavallo is a type of stretched-curd cheese made out of sheep's or cow's milk. It is produced throughout Southern Italy, particularly in the Apennine Mountains and in the Gargano peninsula. Shaped like a teardrop, it is similar in taste to ...

cheese, and often peas, and ''al burro'' or ''ô burru'', filled with ham and

or besciamella. A number of regional variants exist which differ in their fillings and shape. ''Arancini al ragù'' produced in eastern Sicily have a conical shape inspired by the volcano Etna.

Etymology

''Arancini'' derives from the Sicilian plural diminutive of ('orange'), from their shape and colour which, after cooking, is reminiscent of an

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

. In Sicilian, '' arancini'' is grammatically plural. The corresponding singular is either the masculine '' arancinu'' or the feminine '' arancina''. The eastern side of Sicily tends to use the masculine form, while the western side tends to use the feminine form. In Italian, the masculine (pl. ''arancini'') form has become prevalent, even though the feminine form (pl. ''arancine'') can also be used.

History

Arancini are said to have originated in 10th-century

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, at a time when the island was under Arab rule. Its origins may therefore be possibly the same as

kibbeh Kibbeh (, also kubba and other spellings; ar, كبة, kibba; tr, içli köfte) is a family of dishes based on spiced ground meat, onions, and grain, popular in Middle Eastern cuisine. In Levantine cuisine, kibbeh is usually made by pounding ...

of the

Levantine cuisine Levantine cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the Levant. Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of Levantine cuisine is ''meze'' including '' tabbouleh'', ''hummus'' and ''baba ghanoush''. Levantine dishes * Arabic coffee (قهوة عر ...

. In the cities of Palermo, Siracusa, and

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an imp ...

in Sicily, arancini are a traditional food for the feast of Santa Lucia on 13 December, when bread and pasta are not eaten. This commemorates the arrival of a grain supply ship on Santa Lucia's day in 1646, relieving a severe famine. Today, with the increasing popularity of this finger food in modern Italian food culture, arancini are found all year round at most Sicilian food outlets, particularly in Palermo, Messina and Catania. The dish was traditionally created to provide a full meal to Federico II di Svevia during his hunting activities.

Ingredients and variations

The most common type of ''arancini'' sold in Sicilian cafés are ''arancini cû sucu'' (it. ''arancini al ragù''), which typically consist of meat in a

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

sauce, rice, and

or other cheese. Many cafés also offer ''arancini cû burru'' (it. ''arancini al burro'', with butter or

béchamel sauce Bechamel sauce ( ) is a sauce traditionally made from a white roux (butter and flour in a 1:1 mixture by weight) and milk. Bechamel may also be referred to as besciamella (Italy), besamel (Greece), or white sauce (U.S.). French, Italian and Gree ...

) or specialty arancini, such as ''arancini chî funci'' (it. ''arancini ai funghi'', with

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

s), ''arancini câ fastuca'' (it. ''arancini al pistacchio'', with pistachios), or ''arancini â norma'' (it. ''arancini alla norma, with

aubergine Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit. Mo ...

). In

Roman cuisine Roman cuisine comes from the Italian city of Rome. It features fresh, seasonal and simply-prepared ingredients from the Roman Campagna.Boni (1930), pg. 13. These include peas, globe artichokes and fava beans, shellfish, milk-fed lamb and goat, ...

, '' supplì'' are similar but are commonly filled with cheese (different preparation methods and filling distribution). In

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, rice balls are called . In a variant recipe originating among the Italian diaspora in

Southeast Texas Southeast Texas is a cultural and geographic region in the U.S. state of Texas, bordering Southwest Louisiana and its greater Acadiana region to the east. Being a part of East Texas, the region is geographically centered on the Greater Houston ...

, the arancini are stuffed with a chili-seasoned filling.

In popular culture

Italian literature Italian literature is written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italians or in other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely related to modern Italian, including ...

, Inspector Montalbano, the main character of Andrea Camilleri's detective novels, is a well-known lover of arancini – especially those made by Adelina Cirrinciò, his housekeeper and cook. The success of the book series and the television adaptation has contributed to making this dish known outside of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Notes

References

External links

*
Arancino recipe
at

BBC Food BBC Food is a division of the BBC which controls a recipe website part of BBC Online, an online streaming channel, and a former international commercial television channel focusing on food. Website BBC Food is the public service website whic ...

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