Italian Rice Balls

[NJCher]

"Remember those rice balls we bought in a bakery in Newark about 15 years ago?" I asked.

"Sure," responded my spouse quickly. As a professional in the culinary field, he remembers just about everything about food. We had purchased the rice balls on a trip over to the tailor's. Bloomfield Avenue in Newark, parts of which are like Little Italy. The rice balls were so delicious that I'd never forgotten them.

"So how would I make them?" I asked, thinking of the leftover rice in the refrigerator.

Just add some egg white to the rice, I was advised. Herbs. Seasonings. Cut cheese into cubes and put them in the middle. Roll them in bread crumbs and bake them at 350 until warmed through.

So it's a cold, rainy afternoon in NJ-- too cold to spend planting in the garden.

I decide to make the rice balls.

I had four or so cups of rice. I found I needed three egg whites to make the rice balls stick together. I used queso cheese, a white cheese, for the centers. I mixed in fresh marjoram and thyme from my garden into the rice.

I rolled them in Italian bread crumb mix. Progresso, I think. Baked them for around 20"-30".

Out of this world. Ahhh. Happiness is creating a dish tasted over 15 years ago.




Cher

[Warpy]

1. I do it with brown rice, boost that protein and fibre

and short grain is best because it tends to be pretty sticky.

I use 3 cups of rice, one whole egg, and cubes of mozzarella. I mix the egg and rice, form the rice balls around the mozzarella, then roll the rice balls in a mixture of half and half seasoned bread crumbs and freshly and finely powdered Parmesean chees. I then quickly deep fry in very hot oil.

I love these things with a side of steamed broccoli.

I know you can also put a dollop of tomato sauce in the middle, but the ones with a surprise of mozzarella in the middle are so good I've just never experimented farther.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

2. My nonna made them

We called them something like "suppli al telefono" (my Italian has withered badly since my childhood) because when we split them open to eat them - with our fingers - the melted mozzarella would hang there in long strings like telephone wires.

That's more than 50 years ago.

[Gormy Cuss]

3. Your memory is good according to About.com

Roman rice balls are called that. I checked the page because I've always heard them called arancini, which is the Sicilian name for rice balls.

http://italianfood.about.com/od/fritterssnacks/a/blr0030.htm

[OldLeftieLawyer]

4. Unbelievable!

Thank you SO much for that. What a nice thing you did!

Food, grandmothers, memories - some things no number of years can dim.

Grazie, amico mio.

[politicat]

5. Isn't it amazing how some cuisines are universal?

Use salmon, tofu, or pickled vegetables, and roll in sesame seeds - japanese. Stuff with shrimp or chiles and shredded vegetables and deep fry briefly - Chinese. Use leftover yellow rice, mix with ground chickpeas and pan fry, it's a type of falafel. Stuff with palm sugar, fry and serve with rose water scented sugar syrup, and you can make an Indian weep with homesickness.

I printed out your recipe, and the next time it's cool enough to use the oven, or we have leftover rice, I'm making them. Are they good with marinara as a dip?