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Someone tearing open a ball of arancini.

Arancini Balls Recipe with Tomato and Red Pepper Dipping Sauce

In this recipe i'll be showing you how to make Arancini balls with a tomato and red pepper dipping sauce that makes for an awesome combination.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Italian Inspired
Keyword best arancini recipe, easy arancini balls, risotto balls
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 10 arancini balls
Calories 949 kcal
Author Nicolas

Ingredients

Spicy tomato and red pepper dipping sauce (optional)

  • 1 tin 400g of plum tomatoes
  • 200 g of jarred/tinned roasted red peppers
  • 1 red chili roughly chopped
  • 2 teaspoons of tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves peeled and roughly chopped
  • Salt and pepper for seasoning
  • A bunch of fresh basil leaves shredded

Arancini

  • 600 g of leftover cold risotto (click the link to check out my risotto recipe)
  • 3 eggs
  • 25 g of goats cheese
  • 150 g flour mixed with a pinch of salt and pepper
  • 150 g breadcrumbs mixed with a pinch of salt and pepper (gluten free breadcrumbs if you're gluten free)
  • Plenty of vegetable oil for deep frying
  • Salt and pepper for seasoning

Instructions

Dipping sauce (optional)

  1. Put the tinned tomatoes, red peppers, red chili, tomato paste, olive oil, garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper in a blender. Blend for 1-2 minutes until smooth then transfer to a pot.
  2. Alternatively, if you don't have a blender, you could just put all the ingredients in the pot and use a hand blender instead.
  3. Bring to the boil on high heat on the stove. Once the sauce is boiling, turn the heat down low and gently simmer the sauce for 25-30 minutes stirring occasionally until it the sauce has thickened. I recommend half covering the pot with a lid because the sauce can splatter a fair bit while simmering. Turn the heat off, stir your basil leaves through the sauce then set aside.

Arancini

  1. Put the risotto in a bowl.
  2. Get one of your eggs, then separate the yolk from the white. Add the yolk to the risotto mixture and the white in a separate bowl. Mix the yolk through the risotto.
  3. Get a bowl of water, then lightly wet your hands.
  4. Get a golf ball sized piece of risotto rice in your hand, then push a small dent in it with your finger. Fill it with a small bit of the goats cheese, then mould the risotto rice around the cheese into a ball.
  5. Do the same with the rest of the risotto and set aside.
  6. Crack the other 2 eggs in the bowl with the egg white, add a pinch of salt and pepper then whisk well with a fork. Put your seasoned flour on one plate, and your seasoned breadcrumbs on another plate.
  7. Roll some of your rice balls on plate with the flour making sure they are all coated. Shake off the excess flour then dip them in the bowl with the egg. Finally, transfer to the bowl with the breadcrumbs and coat well. Once all of your rice balls are coated, put them on a plate, then put in the fridge to firm up.
  8. Put enough oil in a pot to deep fry, then get it on the stove on high flame. Pre-heat for about 8-10 minutes. You can test to see if the oil is hot enough by adding a peice of bread, if it is floating and bubbling you are ready to start frying the Arancini. Get some kitchen paper ready. From there just turn the heat down to about medium flame.
  9. Carefully submerge the rice balls in the oil about 4-5 at a time, making sure you don't overcrowd the pot. Fry them for about 2-3 minutes until they go golden brown.
  10. Transfer your rice balls on the kitchen paper to drain.
  11. Let them cool for a bit, re-heat the dipping sauce then they are ready to eat. Enjoy!

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

  • Serve the arancini as soon as you can after you deep fry them
  • Experiment with different cheeses.
  • Double coat your rice balls in your breadcrumbs to firmly seal the filling in. 
  • Use the leftover dipping sauce to coat pasta. 
  • If you have any leftover arancini, freeze it. To heat it back up, put in a hot, preheated oven for 20-30 minutes. 
Nutrition Facts
Arancini Balls Recipe with Tomato and Red Pepper Dipping Sauce
Amount Per Serving
Calories 949 Calories from Fat 140
% Daily Value*
Fat 15.5g24%
Saturated Fat 4.6g29%
Cholesterol 126mg42%
Sodium 1523mg66%
Potassium 284mg8%
Carbohydrates 170.2g57%
Fiber 6.7g28%
Sugar 11.2g12%
Protein 31.4g63%
Calcium 340mg34%
Iron 4.7mg26%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.