Arancini Siciliani

– chop the onion and put into a large saucepan together with a pinch of salt and extra virgin olive oil;

– put the saucepan onto the stove and start cooking on a medium heat;

– as soon as the oil starts frying, low the heat to the minimum and cover the saucepan with its lid;

– allow the onion to stew slowly in its own liquids;

– when the onion becomes soft, remove the lid, add the minced meat, bring the heat to medium and mix well;

– after a few seconds, pour the glass of wine and stir well;

– add the tomato paste and mix well until it melts;

– pour the tomato sauce and mix well;

– after 15 minutes from when the sauce starts to boil, add the peas and mix well;

– continue to cook the sauce on medium heat till most of the liquids evaporate and you are obtain a creamy sauce (it will take around 40 minutes);

– remove the saucepan from the stove and allow it to cool down;

– prepare and bring to boil the vegetable stock into a separate large pan, then cook the rice in it;

– drain the rice and transfer it into a large bowl;

– get the tomato sauce you had prepared before, and drain it through a colander on top of the rice;

– put the drained sauce away again, and mix well till rice in its bowl till it absorbs the drained liquid;

– add the eggs, the grated cheese and the saffron to the rice and mix well till all ingredients are well amalgamated;

– allow the rice to cool down to room temperature;

– once both the rice and the sauce have reached room temperature, you can go ahead with assembling the Arancini as explained below;

– put some rice in the palm of your hand and give it the form of a concave hemisphere;

– fill its center with  2 teaspoons of sauce and  2 small cubes of mozzarella cheese;

– fold the rice around the filling until it seals;

– shape it in the form of a cone with your hands;

– roll it in the breadcrumbs;

– deep fry in abundant oil about 10/12 minutes;