Arancino- A Sicilian Delight!
Ahhh...the heavenly smell of Arancini has been in my memory since I can remember. My mother would raise early as usual, and often choose Sundays to craft this delight. I associate Sundays to Arancini like many associate Sundays to church. Arancini are saffron flavored Arborio rice balls, filled with home made Ragu', a tasty concoction of sauteed peas, fresh Bufala mozzarella and a copious amount of grated Caciocavallo Ragusano.They are then coated with bread crumbs and deep fried. Eating one of my mom's arancini was always a mystical experience!!
But who takes credit for inventing this delicious culinary treasure? The origin of the Arancino goes back to 10th century Sicily when the island was under Arab rule. It was Arab costume to place a little bit of Saffron flavored rice in the palm of the hand, to then be filled with lamb meat and made into a ball.
According to the writings of Giambonino da Cremona in Liber de ferculis (Da Cremona, XIII), the Arabs named their rice balls and meat balls after a fruit of similar size and shape. Arancino translates into "little orange", reminiscent of a small orange, this rice ball was named after the orange fruit. In the Plural: Arancini o Arancine; in the singular, Arancino is used in the eastern area of Sicily, and Arancina in the west. The shape can variate from round to conic, and although different fillings can be found in different parts of Italy, the classic Arancino ingredients are ragu' and mozzarella.
Click the link below for a video and recipe (courtesy of Food Network).
References
https://www.lacucinaitaliana.it/news/in-primo-piano/arancino-o-arancina-il-dibattito-linguistico-sulla-specialita-siciliana/
Photo from http://www.sicilianicreativiincucina.it/gli-arancini-siciliani-al-ragu/
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