![Picture](/uploads/4/4/9/5/44950717/8875156.jpg?298)
Welcome to a little piece of Italy. My mothers side is from Sicily and I am now channeling my blood through cooking. My husbands father is from Sicily where his family still resides in Alia. We took a trip to Italy in 2009 where we started in Sicily and made our way up to Milan to see the rest of our family. We spent time with our family talking and reminiscing all while eating authentic and fresh food. You can walk outside and pick a fig, almonds, olives, pears, fichi d'india aka cactus pear, or grapes off the vines.
One thing that Sicilians make are Arancini's aka rice balls. It is hard to mimic the taste of Italy, but now is the time to learn. The crunch when you bite into one, then pull away as the mozzarella strings from your mouth with the hint of fresh tomato sauce. Words cannot describe what my mouth tasted and my heart felt that day. Zia Anna and Joe's cousins Maria and Manuela cooked for us day and night, like we were royalty. But in Italy, food is family. What I mean is, where food is, family gathers. We will hopefully be heading back next year so that the kids can experience what the joy of Italy is all about. This blog post is dedicated to Nonna who passed away last year. She will be dearly missed.
Now for tonight I dissected the Arancini and created a casserole. Below you will find a way to WOW your guests without all the work of making Arancini's.
Arancini Casserole
1 box of arborio rice
1/2 bag of peas
1/2 stick of butter or margarine
1 chicken bouillon
1 pkg of meat
Olive oil
1/4 cup onion
2 cloves of garlic
Basil
Mozzarella Cheese
Breadcrumbs
Jar of sauce or can of tomatoes
(slideshow of steps below)
First if you want to make your own sauce dice up two cloves of garlic. Put a splash of olive oil in a pan and add the garlic. Saute for a few minutes then add the can of tomatoes (I prefer a puree). I then add in half a can of water to cut down on the acid. DO NOT ever put sugar in sauce...that is a true Italian NO NO!! Then you can add fresh basil or canned and let it simmer.
Moving on....
Now prep the broth for the risotto. Remember all this can be done earlier when you are crunched on time and then just use it cold to put in the casserole.
Make a pan of warm water and drop in 1 chicken bullion. Turn the pan on low so that you do not boil the water away. Now prep a bigger pan with a splash of olive oil and the diced onion. Brown the onions and then add in 1 box of arborio rice. Brown the rice then add in a little of the broth. You need to keep mixing so that the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pan. The rice will soak up the liquid, and as it does add a little more broth to it keeping it on medium heat. Repeat the process until the rice tastes soft and cooked. You can then add in 1/2 stick of butter or margarine and stir in. If you have saffron or in Italian we call it zefferano, mix the packet in. The saffron gives it a yellow tinge with a great flavor.
Next start cooking your peas and browning your meat. I just throw 1/2 a bag of peas in warm water in the microwave for 2 min and then drain. Once the meat is cooked and drained add some sauce to it and cook for 2 more min.
Now get a bigger Pyrex pan out and spray the bottom so that the rice does not stick. Put a layer of the risotto down, then add the peas, then add the meat, then add the remaining sauce and then layer with mozzarella and then a layer of breadcrumbs on the top. Set the stove to 350 and bake for 30-35 min until the breadcrumbs on top are brown.
Now cut into that delicious casserole and serve to your family or guests and all you will hear is WOW!
Buon Appetite!!!!
One thing that Sicilians make are Arancini's aka rice balls. It is hard to mimic the taste of Italy, but now is the time to learn. The crunch when you bite into one, then pull away as the mozzarella strings from your mouth with the hint of fresh tomato sauce. Words cannot describe what my mouth tasted and my heart felt that day. Zia Anna and Joe's cousins Maria and Manuela cooked for us day and night, like we were royalty. But in Italy, food is family. What I mean is, where food is, family gathers. We will hopefully be heading back next year so that the kids can experience what the joy of Italy is all about. This blog post is dedicated to Nonna who passed away last year. She will be dearly missed.
Now for tonight I dissected the Arancini and created a casserole. Below you will find a way to WOW your guests without all the work of making Arancini's.
Arancini Casserole
1 box of arborio rice
1/2 bag of peas
1/2 stick of butter or margarine
1 chicken bouillon
1 pkg of meat
Olive oil
1/4 cup onion
2 cloves of garlic
Basil
Mozzarella Cheese
Breadcrumbs
Jar of sauce or can of tomatoes
(slideshow of steps below)
First if you want to make your own sauce dice up two cloves of garlic. Put a splash of olive oil in a pan and add the garlic. Saute for a few minutes then add the can of tomatoes (I prefer a puree). I then add in half a can of water to cut down on the acid. DO NOT ever put sugar in sauce...that is a true Italian NO NO!! Then you can add fresh basil or canned and let it simmer.
Moving on....
Now prep the broth for the risotto. Remember all this can be done earlier when you are crunched on time and then just use it cold to put in the casserole.
Make a pan of warm water and drop in 1 chicken bullion. Turn the pan on low so that you do not boil the water away. Now prep a bigger pan with a splash of olive oil and the diced onion. Brown the onions and then add in 1 box of arborio rice. Brown the rice then add in a little of the broth. You need to keep mixing so that the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pan. The rice will soak up the liquid, and as it does add a little more broth to it keeping it on medium heat. Repeat the process until the rice tastes soft and cooked. You can then add in 1/2 stick of butter or margarine and stir in. If you have saffron or in Italian we call it zefferano, mix the packet in. The saffron gives it a yellow tinge with a great flavor.
Next start cooking your peas and browning your meat. I just throw 1/2 a bag of peas in warm water in the microwave for 2 min and then drain. Once the meat is cooked and drained add some sauce to it and cook for 2 more min.
Now get a bigger Pyrex pan out and spray the bottom so that the rice does not stick. Put a layer of the risotto down, then add the peas, then add the meat, then add the remaining sauce and then layer with mozzarella and then a layer of breadcrumbs on the top. Set the stove to 350 and bake for 30-35 min until the breadcrumbs on top are brown.
Now cut into that delicious casserole and serve to your family or guests and all you will hear is WOW!
Buon Appetite!!!!