Catanese arancini in tomato sauce, a recipe that is fully part of Sicilian cuisine and the most famous grandmother recipes, along with the butter arancina and Sicilian rosticceria in general, but above all part of our collection dedicated to Sicilian arancini.
In Catania we call it arancino, it has a point and is modest; in Palermo it is round and called arancina. In Palermo it’s made with ragù and in Catania it’s made with tomato sauce, with a piece of meat inside and cheese. There are a few small differences, but whether you find yourself in wonderful Catania or beautiful Palermo, enjoy this specialty and keep it in your heart because you will not forget it! Let’s go to the kitchen and prepare the arancini in tomato sauce. But first, I remind you to take a look at our collection of quick summer recipes and if you want to stay updated on all my recipes you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here)!
This recipe is part of my book dedicated to Sicilian cuisine: La Sicilia è in tavola.
Have a look:
- Difficulty: Difficult
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 8 Hours
- Preparation time: 4 Hours
- Cooking time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 22
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients to make Catanese arancini in tomato sauce
- 1 lb 5 oz beef (for stewing, or half beef and half pork (600 g))
- 1 carrot (medium)
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 onion (medium)
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- 6 2/3 tbsp tomato paste (about 100 g)
- 3 1/8 cups strained tomato (passata) (750 ml)
- tsp sugar (optional (1 teaspoon))
- to taste salt
- 3 3/4 cups Carnaroli rice (or Roma (750 g uncooked))
- 8 3/4 cups vegetable broth (or lightly salted water (2.1 L))
- 3 1/2 tbsp butter (about 50 g)
- 2 packets saffron
- 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about 80 g)
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (about 200 g)
- 1 7/8 cups water (about 450 ml)
- 1 egg (optional or 50 g additional water (about 3 1/2 tbsp))
- 2 cups breadcrumbs (about 200 g)
- 7 oz Emmental (to add to the filling along with pieces of meat and sauce (about 200 g))
- to taste high-oleic sunflower oil (for deep frying)
Tools
- Pots
- Bowl
- Baking pans
Preparation of Catanese arancini in tomato sauce
The preparation of arancini is long and cannot be improvised, so organize yourself in advance and perhaps start the evening before.
Start by finely chopping the celery, carrot and onion,
brown them well and add the meat
in pieces.
Let it brown well and add the double-concentrated tomato paste, the
passata and water. Cook for about 2 hours over low heat with the lid on, then add the
sugar, adjust the salt and (if you want also add 150 g of fine peas — about 1 cup).
Continue cooking for another hour; when the meat is so tender that it falls apart, remove the lid, raise the heat slightly and, taking care not to burn the sauce, let it reduce.
Turn off the heat and let cool without the lid so condensation does not form and the steam does not fall back into the sauce. It’s time to cook the rice, which you can do in vegetable broth or lightly salted water.
Bring the chosen liquid to a boil and add the rice. Cook over low heat and, halfway through cooking, let the rice finish cooking by absorption.
At this point all the broth should have been absorbed; if not, remove the excess with a ladle.Spread the rice in a wide container, add two ladles of sauce (without meat), the saffron, the butter and the Parmigiano, mix and let rest, stirring from time to time: the rice will dry out, losing excess moisture. Once cool, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 8–12 hours in a cool place.
If you have done this step well, the next morning it will be easier to assemble the arancini and they will not break during cooking. At this point you can decide to form the arancini with your hands or use special molds. For the hand method,
fill the palm of your hand with a layer of rice about 3/8″ thick (1 cm) or even less if you can,
bend your hand to form a cavity, insert 2 teaspoons of sauce, two small pieces of
meat and two small cubes of cheese.
Cover the cavity with a little more rice, gently shape it into the classic pyramid shape or, if you can’t, give it a round shape.
If you use a mold like the one I have, here are the step-by-step photos (see below). Fill the first part of the mold with rice, place the second part on top, insert the plunger, press to obtain a cavity, which you will fill with ragù and one or two cubes of cheese you previously cut. Close with a bit of rice and unmold.
Assemble all the arancini this way, prepare a fluid batter by thinning the flour with a little water and once you have eliminated lumps add an egg and then the remaining water, mixing well.
Not everyone likes to add the egg to the batter; I do because that’s how my mother taught me.
Dip each arancino in the batter, let it drain and then coat it with breadcrumbs.
Once all arancini are prepared, let them rest in the fridge for a couple of hours before frying. Heat the oil; to check the temperature, insert a toothpick or the handle of a wooden spoon — if many bubbles form around it the oil is ready.
Fry a few arancini at a time, let them brown just a little, take them out and let them cool for about ten minutes. Do this for all of them and then fry them again until you obtain a nice golden, crunchy coating.
The double fry step, which may seem strange, is used to achieve a perfect browning in less time, but it is not mandatory. The arancini are ready to be served!
Storage notes and tips
I recommend cooking only the arancini you plan to consume the same day; leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator and eaten by the next day, although they will lose crunchiness and freshness.
Some people freeze assembled, breaded arancini to thaw and fry when needed. I do not recommend this as the rice would suffer and become too soft; at most you can fry them a day or two later, but do not go beyond that.
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