Arancini alla Norma

A delicious variation on classic Sicilian arancini. These arancini alla Norma are filled with eggplant in a light tomato sauce, ricotta salata and mozzarella to create perfect vegetarian arancini!

One of the most recognizable Sicilian foods, arancini (also known as rice balls or arancini balls) are found all over the island and commonly sold as street food and snacks.

We all love classic ragu with peas filled arancini (check out my mom's best arancini recipe!) but in Sicily you'll find dozens of variations, both sweet and savory, of these tasty, golden morsels!

One of the most recent I sampled were these arancini alla Norma in San Gregorio (ME). The filling basically consists of the ingredients used for the sauce in pasta alla norma: fried eggplant; tomato sauce and ricotta salata. I decided to add a cube of mozzarella in the center for extra cheesiness!

Steps for making arancini

Many find the process of making arancini quite daunting. However, when you break down the process into manageable steps, preparing a batch of arancini is a breeze. And quite frankly, there's nothing like homemade!

The day before

1. Cook your rice. Transfer to a wide pan for quick cooling and refrigerate.
2. Prepare the eggplant sauce. Let cool and refrigerate.

The day of

1. Cut mozzarella into cubes.
2. Prepare assembly line: rice; eggplant sauce; mozzarella; bowls of beaten eggs and breadcrumbs for dredging.
3. Assemble the arancini.
4. Fry immediately or keep refrigerated and fry later on the same day before serving.
5. Alternately refrigerate and fry the following day.

Ingredient list

For the rice and assembling

• Arborio rice: or any other long grain rice such as Carnaroli or Vialone Nano.
• Vegetable broth: or if you prefer, chicken broth
• Parmigiano cheese
• Eggs
• Unseasoned breadcrumbs
• Not shown: vegetable oil for frying

For the alla Norma sauce

• Eggplant
• Tomato passata: tomato purée
• Garlic clove
• Olive oil
• Red pepper flakes: optional
• Salt
• Ricotta salata: grated
• Mozzarella: cut into cubes

The following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. Please scroll to the end of this post for the detailed printable recipe card.

Step by Step Instructions

Prepare the rice

• Bring the broth to a boil in a large sauce pan.
• Add rice, lower to a simmer, cover and cook until tender about 20-25 minutes.
• Taste and add salt, if needed.
• Transfer to a wide shallow pan and let cool slightly before stirring in Parmigiano cheese.
• Cool completely and refrigerate until ready to use.

Prepare the sauce

• In a large skillet, heat olive oil and sauté cubed eggplant until soft and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add salt to taste. Transfer to a bowl.
• In the same skillet, add a minced garlic clove and red pepper flakes, if using, and sauté for a few seconds.
• Pour in the tomato passata and let simmer for ten minutes. Add salt, to taste.
• Stir in the cooked eggplant and simmer for ten minutes longer.
• Transfer to a bowl and let cool slightly before stirring in grated ricotta salata cheese.
• Let cool completely before refrigerating until ready to use.

Assemble the arancini

• Cut mozzarella into cubes.
• Remove the rice and eggplant sauce from the fridge. Stir beaten eggs into the rice mixture.
• Set up an assembly line with the rice; eggplant sauce; cubed mozzarella; a bowl with beaten eggs for the eggwash; a bowl with breadcrumbs and a baking sheet to place the assembled arancini on.

• Use a ½ measuring cup to scoop rice into the palm of your hand and roll into a ball.
• Make a deep indentation in the centre of the rice and add about a tablespoon full of eggplant sauce and a cube of cheese.
• Carefully close the rice around the filling. If needed, use a bit of extra rice to enclose the eggplant filling completely.
• Roll into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet.
• Continue with the remaining rice.

• Once assembled, dredge each arancini first in the eggwash allowing excess egg to drip off.
• Next, roll in the breadcrumbs.

Fry the arancini

• Fill a heavy bottomed, deep sauce pan about halfway with vegetable oil. Alternately, use your deep fryer.
• Heat oil: to test if the oil is hot enough place the handle of a wooden spoon in the centre of the pan. If the oil immediately begins to sizzle and bubble around the handle, the oil is ready.
• Fry a few arancini at a time, do not overcrowd the pan, until golden, about 2-3 minutes.
• Remove with a slotted spoon or spider and transfer to a paper towel covered tray.
• Serve hot.

Recipe Notes

Check out more Sicilian arancini recipes!

• Sicilian Arancini (ragu with pea filling)
• Seafood Arancini
• Pistachio Arancini
• Arancini with Mozzarella and Ham (arancini al burro)