Sicilian Saffron Arancini with Molten Mozzarella

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Golden, shatter-crisp rice balls the way they're sold from Palermo market stalls — a saffron-stained risotto chilled firm, packed around a cube of mozzarella, breaded and fried until the shell crackles and the middle pulls into a cheese string. Eat them hot out of a paper cone with flaky salt and a squeeze of lemon.

Ingredients

• 4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/4 tsp saffron threads, crumbled (a generous pinch)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 small yellow onion, minced very fine
• 1 1/2 cups arborio or carnaroli rice
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan or pecorino
• 2 large egg yolks
• freshly ground black pepper

• 5 oz low-moisture mozzarella, cut into 12 cubes about 1/2 inch each
• 1/3 cup frozen peas, thawed and patted dry (optional)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 cups fine dry breadcrumbs (plain or Italian-seasoned)
• 6 cups neutral oil for frying, such as peanut or canola

• flaky sea salt
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 cup warm tomato sauce for dipping (optional)

• 6 squares of parchment or newsprint-style paper, rolled into cones

Instructions

1. Warm the broth in a saucepan over medium heat until steaming, then stir in the crumbled saffron and turn the heat to low. Let it steep while you start the rice — the broth should turn deep gold.
2. In a wide, heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat. Add the minced onion and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and cook, stirring, for 6 to 8 minutes until completely soft and translucent but not browned.
3. Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes until the grains look glassy at the edges and smell toasty. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.
4. Ladle in about 1 cup of the hot saffron broth and stir steadily until it is nearly absorbed. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring often, for 18 to 22 minutes total, until the rice is just tender with no chalky center. This risotto should finish thicker and drier than one you'd eat with a spoon — it needs to hold a shape, so stop adding broth once the rice mounds on the spoon.
5. Off the heat, beat in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, the Parmesan, and the egg yolks, working fast so the yolks cook into the hot rice rather than scrambling. Season with black pepper and more salt to taste — it should taste slightly over-seasoned.
6. Spread the rice in a thin, even layer on a parchment-lined sheet pan, press plastic wrap directly on the surface, and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Cold, firm rice is the whole trick; warm rice will burst in the oil.
7. Line a sheet pan with parchment. Scoop a scant 1/3 cup of the chilled rice into a wet palm and flatten it into a disc. Press a mozzarella cube (and a few peas, if using) into the center, then close the rice around it and roll into a smooth ball or the traditional cone shape, about 2 1/4 inches across. Seal any cracks with your fingertips. Repeat to make 12. Chill the shaped arancini 20 minutes.
8. Set up three shallow bowls: flour in the first, eggs beaten with the water in the second, breadcrumbs in the third. Roll each ball in flour, tapping off the excess, then egg, letting the extra drip away, then press it firmly all over in breadcrumbs. For the sturdiest shell, return it to the egg and breadcrumbs a second time. Rest the breaded arancini in the fridge 15 minutes.
9. Pour the oil into a deep, heavy pot to a depth of about 2 1/2 inches and heat to 340°F on a thermometer. Fry the arancini 3 or 4 at a time, turning them gently with a spider or slotted spoon, for 4 to 5 minutes until deep mahogany-gold and hot all the way through. Keep the oil between 335°F and 350°F, letting it recover between batches.
10. Drain the arancini on a wire rack (not paper towels, which steam the crust) and shower them immediately with flaky salt and parsley.
11. Stand two arancini in each paper cone, cut one open so the cheese pulls, and serve blazing hot with lemon wedges and a small cup of warm tomato sauce for dipping.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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