Arancini with Eggplants

Arancini with eggplants is what you just might obsess over after a few slices of parmigiana di melanzane. If you have made risotto before, arancini are just a few steps away. Simple and extremely filling. Yes, I have them down as appetizers but boy will those stuffed balls fill you up!

I first had these while on a trip to Sicily, right after that first bite, I could not understand why I never made the connection. Why my arancini-loving self had not thought of coupling fried diced eggplants with a simple tomato-basil sauce to arborio rice, Parmigiano Reggiano, and stuffing them with buffalo mozzarella. To finally seal it all in with breadcrumb coating.

I love making these arancini because I am a little crazy about eggplants. And, I have my ‘hand me something fried will you?!” moments. This obsession started sometime between when I developed strong feelings following scoop/spread after scoop/spread of babaganoush and a few slices into parmigiana di melanzane.

Allow me to let you in on a little secret; parmigiana nicely tucked between a crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside block of ciabatta; has a way of crawling into your heart, carving a space for itself and never leaving! And arancini with eggplants?

Well, that’s where you lose your breath, which will happen right about after the first bite. As your nose is filled with a wave of floral and sweet aroma and your tongue wrestles to make sense of why it tastes so good! No, your hips won’t thank you but what’re 3-4 arancini if you have been good the rest of the week right? So indulge yourself, dear reader!

I know it’s a lot to handle. I mean the guilt and calories that follow each deliciously sinful bite! However, once you do take that first bite there is no turning back. The haunting scent of lovingly stirred rice with Parmigiano Reggiano, fresh basil and fried eggplants will never leave you.

And if you end up having dreams about this stuff then that’s okay too- I won’t blame you. Just don’t forget to tell me about it.

Arancini with Eggplants Ingredients

Tomato: I use passata (tomato purée), for this recipe – specifically Mutti brand (this is not a sponsored post, I just love their stuff). This passata didn’t need long to reduce, plus it has a mild sweet taste that I didn’t want to mess with. However, in case you use canned tomato, blend it to a purée, and sieve to remove the seeds. Reducing the sauce might take a few more minutes as it may be of a lighter consistency than a passata. I suggest you reduce it a further 2-3 minutes.

Rice: Arborio rice, I have yet to use any other type for this recipe, but in case i do you will be the first one I tell.

Cheese: I use Parmigiano Reggiano for the punch it brings. You can use parmesan however I would shy away from grana for this recipe.

Vegetable stock: I used a vegetable stock pot, however, if you have 1 liter of vegetable stock, you can use that instead.

How To Make Arancini with Eggplants?

Step 1: Prepare the tomato sauce, this will take about 5 minutes depending on the type of sauce or canned product you use. Read on ‘tomatoes’ above. Season the sauce well to avoid the arancini being bland, however not too much salt because you will be adding Parmigiano to the rice.

Step 2. Make the risotto: this takes approximately 20 minutes. What you want is for the rice not to be overcooked. It should be ready to eat and still maintain its shape. When the risotto is done, take it off the fire and stir in the Parmigiano.

Step 3. I like to cook more than one ingredient simultaneously to save time. This is why I fry the eggplants as the risotto boils away. Alternatively, you can make the risotto first and leave it to cool as you prepare the rest of the ingredients. There’s a chance that some pieces (mostly consisting of the skin) of eggplant may be a little tough. So pick them out and toss them, then proceed with the rest.

Step 4. And now you bring it all together by first stirring the eggplants into the rice and then mixing in the tomato-basil sauce. It’s crucial to do a final taste just to make sure it’s well-seasoned. Then proceed to fill with the mozzarella and breading. Finish by frying to a nice golden brown.

Tips to remember:

1. Keep your vegetable stock/ water hot at all times to maintain the temperature of the rice as it cooks.

2. After pouring in the initial ladlefuls of water/vegetable stock into the rice and it reduces, you need to now add a ladleful at a time. This is to avoid you having more water than need be by the time the rice is ready.

3. Fry the eggplants to a nice light golden brown and not more. A tell that they are good to go is when they become light and float on the oil. Lay the cooked eggplants on a kitchen paper towel without heaping them over each other for the excess oil to get soaked up from all the eggplants. This also ensures that they are not soggy.

4. It’s absolutely crucial that the rice cool completely before you move on to mixing and filling with the rest of the ingredients.

5. After you have filled the rice mixture with mozzarella, squeeze the rice ball between your hands- with one hand over the other. If there are any pockets of cheese sticking out just push them back in and patch them with the rice.

Storage:

Keep leftovers in the fridge for 2 days maximum. Packs well for lunch. Just microwave them until they’re piping hot, so the cheese inside is nice and melted.

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Other Arancini Recipes You Might Love

Arancini with Spinach

What you will love about this arancini is the intense nutty Parmigiano Reggiano, the mild spinach, and the ‘earthy’ smoked mozzarella. The combination, in my opinion, could not be any more perfect! It is as simple as these arancini with eggplants. With the bonus of you being able to do a happy dance from eating veg.

Print Recipe

Arancini with eggplants

(+30 rating, 6 votes)

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Appetiser – Italian

By Angela – Serves: 12

Prep Time: 10 minutes – Cooking Time: 1 hour 30 minutes – Total Time: 2 hours

Arancini with eggplants is made with arborio rice stirred through with Parmigiano Reggiano. A simple tomato and basil sauce, fried diced eggplants, and buffalo mozzarella.

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 100ml passata
• Fresh basil leaves
• 500g eggplant
• Sunflower oil (enough to deep fry)
• 150g arborio rice
• 2 tbsp finely diced brown onion
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 liter of vegetable stock/ water
• 25g grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 125g buffalo mozzarella
• 1 cup Plain flour
• 2 small eggs
• 1 1/2 cups of plain bread crumbs
• Salt and black pepper

Instructions

Sauce

1

Heat 3 tbsp of olive oil in a non-stick saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour in the Passata and a pinch of salt, stir through with the oil and reduce the heat to low. Leave to reduce for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. When it's ready, take it off the fire, add in 5 basil leaves. Stir through, cover, and leave to infuse as it cools. In the meantime, prepare the rice.

2

Bring the vegetable stock (if using) or water to a boil and keep hot.

Rice

3

Heat 4 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed, non-stick frying pan over high heat. Toss in the onions and continuously stir to avoid burning until the onions are translucent then add in the rice. Let that toast for about 1-2 minutes then pour in the wine (if the onions start to brown before 2 minutes, add the wine immediately as you do not want the onions to brown) and stir until it evaporates.

4

If using vegetable stock, you can pour in a few ladlefuls over the rice. Otherwise, if using a vegetable stockpot, add it together with a few ladlefuls of hot water to the rice and stir until the stockpot is dissolved. Let the rice cook for 20 minutes stirring occasionally and adding water/stock when it runs low. Stop adding water after 18 minutes to avoid it being too watery, but in case you need more add some. When the rice is ready, take it off the fire and pour in the Parmigiano, stir through then add salt if need be, transfer the rice to a bowl or tray to cool completely.

Eggplants

5

Heat the oil in a fryer/ deep pot to 190 C, while it comes to the optimal temperature chop the eggplants to roughly the size of your thumbnail. Fry the eggplants in batches if need be for 5-7 minutes or until they are a nice light golden brown. Lay them over a kitchen paper towel ensuring they aren't heaped over each other but spaced out.

Bring it together

6

Roughly chop 3 large fresh basil leaves

7

All the ingredients should be cooled before mixing in. Start with adding the eggplants and half of the chopped basil to the rice, and finally the sauce. I would add some freshly grated black pepper in at this point too. Taste to make sure the seasoning is as you prefer.

8

Take a heaped tablespoon of rice, make a well and put in some basil and a cube of mozzarella. Cover with rice and firmly press before rolling it in your hand. Patch any mozzarella sticking out with some rice.

9

Proceed to flour, egg, and bread the rice balls. What I do is put the breadcrumbs in a bowl, and after the riceball is floured and coated in the egg I roll the rice ball in the breadcrumb by turning the bowl in an anticlockwise motion. This also helps in shaping the riceball and reducing the mess.

10

Heat the frying oil to 190°C / 374°F and fry each batch for about 4-5 minutes, flipping for even browning and frying. When each one turns brown all over, take them out. Remember the all the ingredients had already been cooked, this step is just to heat it all enough to melt the mozzarella and to fry the outside.

11

Lay the fried arancini on a kitchen paper towel to absorb excess oil, serve hot.