Arancinotto Recipe - Arancini San Domenico

Introduction to the recipe

While the inspiration for the most creative and novel arancini often comes from tradition, other times it comes from the contemporary. It is thanks to the television programme Masterchef that the “San Domenico Raviolone” became famous. One of the most dreaded of recipes among the show’s competitors, this giant raviolo contains a filling of ricotta cheese and spinach with, at its centre, an egg yolk, which must still be liquid when cut into. San Domenico arancini are prepared with the same objective in mind, and are therefore meant to be eaten off of a plate with a fork and knife.

This recipe requires a high level of skill and is only recommended for those who have an arancino mould at their disposal.

Gourmet

Hard

230 grams

Vegetarian

Ingredients for about 8 arancini

For rice:

500 grams of rice ("Roma" and "Originario" rices, mixed in equal doses)
1.1 liter of vegetable stock
2 bags of saffron
10 grams of salt
60-100 grams of butter

For the finish:

100 gr of flour
180 ml of water
2 eggs
150 gr of bread crumbs

For the filling:

50 gr of ricotta (must be compact, not by day)
250 gr of fresh spinach
half onion
8 egg yolks (one for arancino)
extra virgin olive oil
salt, black pepper

Preparation of rice and filling

Rice

How to prepare the rice:

In a saucepan, put the broth, the butter, the saffron and the salt
When the stock is boiling, add the rice and mix well
Cover and cook over low heat until the rice absorbs all the broth and is cooked but al dente
When cooked, stir, pour the rice on a cold surface and spread evenly to allow rapid cooling
When the rice is cool down, it is ready to prepare the arancini

Important

It is important to let the rice dry well during cooking. It should not be too hot or too wet, or it could stick to the mold.

For more informations about rice, Click here.

The filling

Wash the spinach and dry it thoroughly
Chop the Onion
Sauté the onion in olive oil, add the spinach and give it a few minutes to wilt, then remove it from the heat and let it cool
Chop the spinach coarsely using a knife and stir it into the ricotta, then transfer the resulting mixture into a pastry bag

How to shape the arancini

Fill the base of your mould with rice and create a hole using the plunger
Put a base layer of the spinach and ricotta mixture into the bottom of the hole
Separate the egg yolk from the white and put it in a small bowl
Pour it carefully into the hole
Very delicately fill in the rest of the hole with some more of the spinach and ricotta mixture, then put in the remaining rice

How to frying the arancini

The finishing touch

Put the arancini in the batter and in the bread crumbs as follows:

In a bowl, place the flour
Add the egg and water and beat well with whips
When the batter is smooth and dense, pass the arancini
Immediately after having passed them in the batter, pass the arancini in bread crumbs

Frying

Fry in plenty of oil until golden brown, to ensure your arancini fry up perfectly, use one of the following oils: peanut oil, olive oil, or palm oil.
Heat the oil to the ideal temperature, 190°C, either in a frying pan or by setting the temperature on your deep fryer.
If using a pan, you can make sure that the oil has reached the proper temperature by dropping in a bread crumb. If it sizzles, then the oil is ready.
Immerse the arancini gently in the oil, only a few at a time, so as to prevent the temperature of the oil from falling too low.
When they are done, place the arancini on absorbent paper, then serve.
Serve the arancini with sauce on the side.

For more information about Finishing and Frying, Click here.

Enjoy your arancini!

Varation

For even more richly flavourful arancini, substitute the spinach with mushrooms.

Bonus idea

Mix bits of spinach into the rice for even more savoury arancini.

The “egg inside a raviolo” was ‘invented’ by Valentino Marcattilii, chef at the San Domenico restaurant in Imola. The San Domenico opened its doors in 1970, born of the intuition of culinary connoisseur Gianluigi Morini, whose intention was to create a place where the flavours of traditional recipes could merge with those of haute cuisine. The recipe came to the notice of the public at large only recently, thanks to the aforementioned popular cooking show, which transported it from the exclusive world of grand restaurants to the more familiar setting of the television studio.

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