To make the Sicilian Arancini, you first need to cook the rice. Boil the water, add salt and rice, cook for 15 minutes. Now mix in the saffron (dissolved in a bit of hot water), butter, and cheese. Put the rice on a flat baking sheet, cover and set in the fridge for a few hours.
Arancini di Riso: Sicilian Rice Balls. Arancini are delicious, crispy, deep fried Sicilian balls of rice. They have a meat sauce and mozzarella cheese filling and crunchy breadcrumb coating. Similar Italian rice balls are called Supplì in Rome and the nearby region.
Place a piece of mozzarella, and/or a little tomato sauce (and peas, if using) in the center of the cupped rice. Next, close the rice around the filling and shape into a ball. If you’d like to make conical shapes, flatten the bottom of the ball, and make the top more pointed. Now, roll the shaped arancini in flour.
This is the modern age. Arancini are now made with different types of meats, sausages and may contain small goods such as speck or ‘ndjua. There are numerous vegetarian fillings – porcini or spinach with Béchamel sauce and cheese, or aubergine and tomato salsa (in the style of pasta cooked alla Norma).