Hi everyone,
Rice is a staple in our home so any chance to turn it into the main course is a win. This is an Italian comfort food, where rice is the star! Our family LOVES: Arancini di riso.
This is simply stuffed risotto: over cooked rice when prepared at my house 🙂 rolled in bread crumbs, fried and served on a bed of marinara sauce. It’s delicious, warm, savory and less than $1.50 per serving.
You can stuff these with anything. I used pepperoni in some, Parmigiano-Reggiano in some and both in others. I have used ground beef at times. If you decide to try the beef leave it raw and season it. It’ll cook inside the rice ball when you fry it. You only need a few table spoons. This meal is about the rice and sauce- not the meat.
All right, enough yappin’ let’s jump in.
You need:
Rice that’s been over cooked using a little too much water. You want it to be a little sticky. Don’t get carried away here. LOL. This isn’t hard to accomplish. Just a little extra water and a little extra cook time.
Season the rice with salt, basil, pepper and garlic powder. Set it aside to cool.

Prepare your marinara in whatever way you prepare it. I season mine with the same things I put in the rice.

Get some bread crumbs in a bowl and set that aside. I used panko breadcrumbs. I like them better than regular bread crumbs because they get perfectly crunchy.

Next chop up the pepperoni and set the cheeses out also.

Now, using a spoon, get a small palmful of rice. Make sure to wet your hands so the rice is easier to work with. Make a well in the middle with your thumb.

Now fill that little bowl with yumminess. Pepperoni or cheese or both!

Begin to gather the sides around the stuffing. Use your thumb to shove any strays back into the middle. Gather the sides and seal it all up.

Now roll it all up into a nice pretty ball!

Roll the ball in the bread crumbs. The stickiness of the rice will cause the breadcrumbs to adhere.

Now make a whole mess of em’. Set em up on a pan with various fillings and heat your oil.

Apparently, I was entirely too hungry to be fully lucid because I forgot to snap a pick of these love muffins floating in oil so let’s just take a moment to imagine that bubbly golden delicious rice ball floating once it’s finished up. 🙂 Here’s a pic of them fresh out of the pan.

Just a few last steps before you’re eating your weight in rice and sauce. Trust me!
Put some of your marinara in a bowl then nestle a few of the golden love muffins into the sauce. Top it with more cheese and take a second to appreciate the lengths that this rice has gone through to give you a moment you will not soon forget. 🙂

Isn’t that gorgeous! Just beautiful!!
Let’s get a closer look.

Yup. Just as we suspected. Perfection in a bowl. But what about the inside, you ask? Let’s see what we can do about that.

Cheesy, gooey, saucey… and all for less than $1.00 per serving. You can’t loose!

When you prepare this I wanna hear about it! Enjoyyyyy! 🙂