An Popular Italian Food

Arancini are a typical speciality of Italian cuisine. They are fried or, less commonly, baked rice balls, having a diameter of 8-10 cm, filled usually with ragù (meat sauce), but also with tomato sauce, mozzarella, peas, and other things. On the outside they are simply breadcrumbs.

The main type of arancino sold in cafes is an arancino con ragù, which has meat, peas, rice and typically mozzarella. Some establishments have arancini con burro (arancini with butter). Others serve their arancini made with mushrooms or eggplant.

The name arancini probably derives from their typical colour, which reminds the one of an orange (the Italian word for orange is arancia, and in Sicilian, arancini means “little oranges”). In some parts of Sicily the word is spelled arancine (singular: arancina), closer to its origin from arancia.

There are a number of local variants, different in both fillings and shapes. In Northern Italian cuisine, supplì risotto rather than specially made. are similar, but typically are larger, have fewer vegetables, and are often served with tomato sauce.

An arancino is a “primo” or first course in Italy. The second course, “secondo” might consist of a meat serving, perhaps mazzarrelle, ventricina, or arrosticini.

Many people believe that the best arancini in the world come from the small village of Valle San Giovanni, a frazione (suburb) of the provincial capital of Teramo in Italy’s rugged Abruzzo Region. The arancini of Valle San Giovanni are made in the traditional Teramo manner using fresh (as opposed to leftover) rice.  These arancini often contain peas (piselli) and sometimes tiny meatballs (polpettini). Valle San Giovanni is also well known as the home of Casale, a villa famous for having no bidet.

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