This is not an Italian dish that I grew up eating or making. In fact, I had never heard of it until I met my husband, his Grandmother used to make them for him. A few years ago I asked him what he wanted to eat on his birthday. After a few moments of silence he blurts out - Arancini! I had never even had this before, let alone made it. Did I mention that this conversation happened on my cell while I was driving to Whole Foods? Anyway, at the time I had a handy dandy iPhone so when I pulled into my parking space I looked it up. The first recipe I came across was this one from
epicurious. Sounded good, so I went with it. My husband could not have been more pleased as he ate these. I have made them several times since, usually around the holidays. I made several changes (as usual!) to this recipe. I have since found out there there are several different ways to make this. Some arancini are plain, some have just mozerella inside, some are with peas and mozzarella (which is how his Grandmother made them) and some (like the ones I made) have ragu inside.
Continue reading after the jump...
