Seafood Arancini Recipe

halved seafood filled arancini on pile of arancini rice balls

Seafood Arancini Recipe

Arancini, or rice balls, are a common Sicilian street food enjoyed as a snack or antipasto. Seafood arancini, a delicious variation of traditional arancini, are filled with shrimp and scallops in a creamy bechamel sauce, coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried until crisp!

Course antipasto

Cuisine Sicilian-Italian

Keyword rice balls with seafood filling, arancini with shrimp and scallop filling, arancini with seafood filling

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1 50

Servings arancini

Calories 314kcal

Author Nadia Fazio

Ingredients

For the rice

500 grams arborio rice
5 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
1/2-1 cup Parmigiano cheese
2 large eggs lightly beaten

For the seafood mixture

1 small onion or shallot finely minced
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup mushrooms thinly sliced
250 grams shrimp small or medium sized, peeled and deveined
250 grams scallops small
1/4 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp. parsley freshly chopped

For the beshamel sauce

2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup milk preferably whole milk
salt and pepper to taste

To assemble

1 1/4 cups unseasoned Italian breadcrumbs
2 large eggs
vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Cook the rice

In a large sauce pan bring vegetable broth (or chicken if you prefer) to a boil. Stir in arborio rice and cook, covered, until the broth is absorbed, about 20 minutes. The rice will be tender but still have some bite to it.
Transfer it to a large shallow bowl or baking tray and spread it out to cool. Stir in Parmigiano cheese. Once cooled, refrigerate it.

Cook the seafood

If using frozen seafood, defrost it. Rinse the shrimp and scallops, drain and pat dry. Cut the shrimp in half if they are large.
In a large skillet sauté a finely diced small onion or shallot. Add thinly sliced mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, until the water released by the mushrooms has evaporated.
Stir in the seafood and cook for 2 minutes. Add white wine and cook until it has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large bowl.

Prepare the bescamel sauce

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan on medium heat. Do not allow it to brown. Whisk in flour until it forms a thick paste.
Slowly whisk in milk and stir. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Stir the sauce into the seafood mixture along with freshly chopped parsley and let cool.

Assemble the arancini

Stir two lightly beaten eggs into the rice mixture. Set up your dredging station: pour unseasoned breadcrumbs in a bowl; beat two eggs in a second bowl.
In order to ensure even sized arancini, I use a 1/2 cup measuring cup to scoop my rice. Roll rice into a ball and, holding it in 1 hand, make a deep indentation with your fingers.
Place a heaping tablespoon full of seafood mixture in the center. Carefully wrap the rice around the seafood mixture. If needed, use a little extra rice to patch the opening. Roll into a ball.
Continue with the remaining rice and seafood.
Once the arancini are shaped, dredge each ball first in the beaten eggs, allowing the excess to drip off. Then roll in the breadcrumbs.

To fry

Use a heavy bottomed pot (or deep fryer if you have) for frying. Pour in vegetable oil to a depth of 3-inches and heat on medium high heat.
When the oil is hot carefully place the arancini in the pot without crowding them. I usually place 7 or 8 at a time but this will vary according to the size of your pot.
When they are golden on all sides, about 3-4 minutes, remove without a slotted spoon allowing excess oil to drip. Place on a paper towel covered sheet pan or tray.

Notes

On combining cheese with seafood:

There is quite a debate about whether seafood should be combined with cheese. My opinion on this touchy topic is if you like it, then it's fine!

So you'll notice that I added Parmigiano cheese to the rice mixture. Without it, in my opinion, the rice is lacking flavor. Therefore I suggest you add between 1/2 to 1 cup of Parmigiano cheese to your rice, according to your taste.

On assembling the arancini:

Cook your rice and seafood mixture a day ahead, refrigerate and assemble the following day before frying.

Or assemble the arancini a day ahead and fry the following day.

Use a measuring cup (1/2 cup) to measure rice for even sized arancini.

Make smaller appetizer sized arancini: use half the rice mixture and half the seafood filling.

A small cube of mozzarella may also be added to the center of the arancini along with the seafood.

Arancini can be made with leftover risotto.

Can arancini be frozen?

Cooked arancini can be frozen well wrapped in an airtight container for up to one month. Wrap in foil and place in a 350 degrees F to thaw. Once thawed, unwrap until warmed through and crisp on the outside.

Please note that the nutritional information provided is approximate and may vary according to exact ingredients used and portion size.

Nutrition