Italian Rice Balls

"Remember those rice balls we bought in a bakery in Newark about 15 years ago?" I asked.

"Sure," responded my spouse quickly. As a professional in the culinary field, he remembers just about everything about food. We had purchased the rice balls on a trip over to the tailor's. Bloomfield Avenue in Newark, parts of which are like Little Italy. The rice balls were so delicious that I'd never forgotten them.

"So how would I make them?" I asked, thinking of the leftover rice in the refrigerator.

Just add some egg white to the rice, I was advised. Herbs. Seasonings. Cut cheese into cubes and put them in the middle. Roll them in bread crumbs and bake them at 350 until warmed through.

So it's a cold, rainy afternoon in NJ-- too cold to spend planting in the garden.

I decide to make the rice balls.

I had four or so cups of rice. I found I needed three egg whites to make the rice balls stick together. I used queso cheese, a white cheese, for the centers. I mixed in fresh marjoram and thyme from my garden into the rice.

I rolled them in Italian bread crumb mix. Progresso, I think. Baked them for around 20"-30".

Out of this world. Ahhh. Happiness is creating a dish tasted over 15 years ago.




Cher

and short grain is best because it tends to be pretty sticky.

I use 3 cups of rice, one whole egg, and cubes of mozzarella. I mix the egg and rice, form the rice balls around the mozzarella, then roll the rice balls in a mixture of half and half seasoned bread crumbs and freshly and finely powdered Parmesean chees. I then quickly deep fry in very hot oil.

I love these things with a side of steamed broccoli.

I know you can also put a dollop of tomato sauce in the middle, but the ones with a surprise of mozzarella in the middle are so good I've just never experimented farther.

We called them something like "suppli al telefono" (my Italian has withered badly since my childhood) because when we split them open to eat them - with our fingers - the melted mozzarella would hang there in long strings like telephone wires.

That's more than 50 years ago.

Roman rice balls are called that. I checked the page because I've always heard them called arancini, which is the Sicilian name for rice balls.

http://italianfood.about.com/od/fritterssnacks/a/blr0030.htm

Thank you SO much for that. What a nice thing you did!

Food, grandmothers, memories - some things no number of years can dim.

Grazie, amico mio.

Use salmon, tofu, or pickled vegetables, and roll in sesame seeds - japanese. Stuff with shrimp or chiles and shredded vegetables and deep fry briefly - Chinese. Use leftover yellow rice, mix with ground chickpeas and pan fry, it's a type of falafel. Stuff with palm sugar, fry and serve with rose water scented sugar syrup, and you can make an Indian weep with homesickness.

I printed out your recipe, and the next time it's cool enough to use the oven, or we have leftover rice, I'm making them. Are they good with marinara as a dip?