Arancini, or Sicilian rice balls are said to have originated in 10th century Sicily, after rice had been introduced during a period of Arab rule. Though we know them now as a savoury dish, supposedly, the first arancini were sweet and flavoured with sugar and spices, which actually sounds rather nice, but isn’t something I’ve tried yet.
Arancini are much touted as the perfect way to use up left over risotto, which makes perfect sense from a historical perspective, because it was such a cheap and filling meal that many Sicilian households probably whipped up a large pot of risotto on a regular basis to keep large hungry families well fed. Being thrifty with any leftovers would have been a given.
Cooking for two though, rarely leaves me with the dilemma of leftover risotto. I make it in the Instant Pot in a quantity that’s perfect for two hungry adults and we scrape the pot clean. So, if I want to make arancini I always cook up a double batch of risotto the day before.
I’m not a fan of deep frying at home – the smell invariably lingers, even with a good extractor fan and I don’t own a deep fryer, so it’s always a faff – what exactly do people do with the residual oil at the end of the deep frying process? Pouring it down the drain is obviously a big no-no, but disposing of it in the dustbin can be such a messy business. On the handful of ocassions I’ve bothered to deep fry food at home, that problem has always stopped me from bothering again for a few more years at least. So, for us, deep fried food is a treat reserved for eating out and then only ocassionally.
As arancini are traditionally deep fried, I hadn’t attempted to make them at home until the new arrival of a (fabulous!) Instant Pot Duo Crisp suddenly put them on the menu for us. The air fryer lid which comes with the Duo Crisp adds air fryer functionality to the usual pressure cooker functions of the appliance and it’s perfect for cooking breaded foods like arancini, so that was one of the first things I tried with it.
I know they are probably not quite as good as deep fried balls, but if they are air fried for long enough, they get very crispy and we think they are pretty darned good, not to mention the fact that they are considerably healthier than something that’s been plunged into a deep pan of boiling oil.
Shape chilled riosotto into balls 
Coat in breadcrumbs 
Air fry until crisp
They are simple to make and delicious to eat. Once you have a batch of well chilled risotto, it’s just a case of shaping them into small balls and using the pane method to cover them in breadcrumbs. The first step of this would usually be dusting them in seasoned flour, but I like to use seasoned fine cornmeal instead, after which they are dipped into beaten egg and finally rolled in sourdough breadcrumbs until they are completely covered.
Another plus to air frying is that unlike a pan of sizzling oil, there is no need to stand over the air fryer whilst it cooks. As long as you check and turn them from time to time, I like the fact that I can wander away for a few minutes rather than having to watch them like a hawk the entire time.
You can use any leftover risotto and providing you start with low FODMAP risotto, these are low FODMAP too.
The recipe below requires a batch of pre-made risotto which has already been chilled in the fridge for several hours or overnight. To make a batch of risotto first, you may wish to check out my recipe for low FODMAP porcini risotto.
A word about low FODMAP
If a recipe is included in the low FODMAP category, the ingredients have been worked out based on the ‘safe’ or ‘green’ quantities that were listed in the Monash University FODMAP app at the time of writing.
This means that a single portion should be tolerated by most people with IBS. We will also have eaten it without issue, but as IBS triggers are such a personal thing, if you suspect you are particularly sensitive to any particular ingredients, do test your tolerance with a small amount first.
Air fried arancini rice balls
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Loading...Delicious savoury risotto balls, air fried until they have a crispy coating - use low FODMAP risotto if you want to make them low FODMAP. Find it online at https://www.peskyveggie.com/air-fried-arancini
Ingredients
- 1 batch of low FODMAP risotto, chilled (see suggested recipe above)
- 4 – 5 tbsp fine cornmeal
- 100g sourdough breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg, beaten
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil or spray oil
Instructions
Assemble 3 shallow bowls or deep plates in a row and put the cornmeal in the first and season it with salt and pepper, the beaten egg in the second and the breadcrumbs in the last one.
Shape the cold risotto into about 12 evenly sized balls, roughly the size of golf balls.
Carefully roll each ball first in the cornmeal, dusting off excess, then in the beaten egg and finally in the breadcrumbs, ensuring it is fully covered in crumbs.
Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
Brush or spray each ball with oil to coat the outside.
Air fry at 204 ̊C for 12 – 15 minutes, turning once, until crisp and browed. If they look too dry when you turn them, spritz or brush with a little more oil.
