Italy

Arancini Di Riso

For 2 or 3 people

• Cook 250 gram of white rice in salted water for 15-18 minutes, when the rice is done drain the excess water and add the rice in a bowl and add a little bit of olive oil or butter to the rice and mix it together.

• Cut some fresh parsley and add a handful to the rice.

• Add a tablespoon of breadcrumbs to the rice.

• Add 4 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese to the rice.

• Crack 1 egg and add it to the bowl with rice.

• Season the bowl with a little bit of salt and pepper.

• Now start mixing everything together with your hands, make sure they're clean if you're cooking for others. Mix it good until everything is mixed together.

• Now take some of the rice mix from the bowl and start forming little balls the size of a golf ball or even a little bigger.

• When you formed a rice ball, use your thumb to make a dent in the middle and fill it with a little piece of mozzarella (or be creative and fill it with something else to your liking, you can use ham for example)

• Now close the ball back up so that the mozzarella or filling is in the centre and roll it in your hand so that you have a golf ball again.

• Now take 2 little clean bowls, in one of them, crack an egg (or two), depends how much you're making, and mix it up.

• In the other bowl add dry breadcrumbs.

• Now take the rice balls you've made and put them one by one, first dip it in the egg, all around, and then coat it in the other bowl with bread crumbs. Do this with all your rice balls and plate them.

• Now heat some vegetable oil like sesame oil in a pot and heat it to around 150 degrees Celsius. When the oil is hot, gently put your rice balls in the oil and fry them for a few minutes until they're orange and look like oranges.

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Polpette Toscane

For 2 or 3 people

• Put 500 gram of minced meat in a bowl. Veal, porc or chicken, whatever you prefer.

• Peel 2 regular sized potatoes and cut them in small pieces the size of an ice cube. Cook the potatoes in salted water until they're soft and easy to mash. When the potatoes are done, drain the water and let them cool for 2 minutes and then add them to the bowl with your minced meat.

• Now chop half an onion (white) into small pieces and add it to the bowl.

• Mash a clove of garlic and add it to the bowl.

• Add a teaspoon of olive oil, add 3 teaspoons of lemon juice and add it to the bowl.

• Add a tablespoon of breadcrumbs to the bowl.

• Crack 1 egg and add it to the bowl.

• Season with salt and pepper and add some paprika powder as well.

• Now just like with the rice balls, start mixing everything together with a masher or your hands, squeeze it all together until its all mixed up and becomes one paste.

• Now start forming little balls the size of a golf ball, do this until you've used up everything and plated them.

• Now take a pan and heat some olive oil in the pan, when the oil starts getting hot, start adding your meatballs and brown them for a few minutes on all sides, roll them around every now and then so that all sides get cooked.

• Enjoy your meal with a sauce to your liking or you can eat them as it is. I suggest a nice marinara sauce goes perfect with this.