Calabrian arancini recipe

A delicious appetizer that combines authentic flavors and culinary tradition. In this version 100% made in Calabria, we will use quality ingredients such as rice from the Piana di Sibari, 'nduja from Spilinga and caciocavallo Dop Silano to offer you an unforgettable taste experience. In addition, we will also show you a variation without sauce but with a delicious cream of IGP Tropea red onion. Are you ready to get started?

The ingredient to prepare calabrian arancini

  • 300g rice from Piana di Sibari
  • 150g of 'nduja from Spilinga
  • 150g of caciocavallo Dop Silano cheese
  • 500ml traditional sauce
  • Peanut seed oil for frying
  • 1 IGP Tropea red onion (only for the variant without sauce)
  • Salt to taste

How to prepare the calabrian arancini

First of all, prepare the rice. Wash the Piana di Sibari rice thoroughly under cold water to remove excess starch. Cook it in plenty of salted water following the instructions on the package. Once cooked, drain it and allow it to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the variant without sauce. Finely chop the IGP Tropea red onion and sauté it in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil until soft and translucent. Add the fresh cream and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, until smooth. Season with salt and keep aside.

Take the Spilinga 'nduja and, with the help of a fork, crumble it into a bowl. Grate the caciocavallo Dop Silano cheese and add it to the crumbled 'nduja. Mix well until the mixture is smooth.

Now, start forming the arancini. Take a small amount of cooled rice and, with slightly damp hands, crush it to form a small concha.

Fill the rice conca with a teaspoon of the 'nduja and caciocavallo filling. Gently close the rice concha to form a ball and shape it carefully. Repeat the process until you run out of ingredients.

Meanwhile, heat plenty of seed oil and, once the oil is hot, take the arancini one at a time and gently dip them into the hot oil. Fry them until golden brown and crispy, turning them gently to make sure they cook evenly. This frying process should take about 5-6 minutes.

Once the arancini are ready, remove them from the hot oil using a skimmer and place them on paper towels to remove excess oil.

If you are preparing the variant without sauce, serve the freshly fried arancini together with the IGP Tropea red onion cream. Place the cream in a separate small bowl and accompany the arancini with it.

If you prefer the classic version with sauce, heat the traditional sauce in a separate pot. Once hot, gently dip the fried arancini into the hot sauce and let them soak for a few seconds so that they absorb some of the sauce.

Serve the arancini with sauce on a serving platter and enjoy this Mediterranean delicacy. Enjoy!