Cheesy Rice Balls Recipes

ARANCINI RICE BALLS

Steps:

• Using a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot with tight fitting lid, over medium/high heat, add 2 Tbsp olive oil and 2 Tbsp butter. When hot, stir in diced onion and sautee until soft and golden (4-5 min). Add finely diced ham and cook another 2 min or until golden. Add rice and stir to coat with oil.
• Pour in 1 cup white wine and cook until mostly evaporated (2 min). Add 5 cups hot low sodium chicken broth and 1 tsp salt then cover and simmer until liquid has been absorbed by the rice (about 15-17 min). Stir in the peas in, then cover with a tight fitting lid and finish cooking (2 min). Rice should be soft and the liquid mostly absorbed. Spread rice mixture onto a large rimmed baking dish to cool.
• Once rice is at room temperature, stir in 1/3 cup finely chopped parsley and 1 cup parmesan cheese. Form rice balls with wet hands, using a heaping ice cream scoop for each. Stuff each rice ball with a cube of mozzarella cheese and form a tight ball with the rice mixture to enclose the cheese.
• Set up 3 shallow bowls, the first one to have 1 cup flour, the second with 3 beaten eggs, the third with 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs. Dredge each rice ball in flour, shaking off the excess, then dip one-by-one in the beaten egg allowing excess egg to drip back into the bowl. Finally, roll balls in breadcrumbs until evenly coated. It's best to roll and bread all of the rice balls before beginning frying since the frying is quick.
• Add an inch of vegetable oil into a deep pot over medium heat. Once oil is hot (350˚F), add the breaded rice balls in batches without crowding the pot and cook about 3 min total per batch, turning to get all sides golden brown. Transfer to paper towels, sprinkle right away with salt and serve warm with marinara.

CHEESY RICE BALLS

Steps:

• Fill a saucepan halfway with vegetable oil and heat until a deep-fry thermometer inserted in the oil registers 350 degrees F.
• Put some flour in a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Put the eggs and panko in separate shallow bowls.
• Form the rice into 1 1/2-inch balls. Push some of the cheese and ham into the center of each ball and press the rice around the filling. Dredge the rice balls in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess, then in the egg followed by the panko.
• Place a few of the balls in the hot oil and cook until golden brown all over, about 3 minutes. Repeat with the remaining rice balls. Drain slightly on paper towels and serve.

CHEESY RICE BALLS

Steps:

• Pour enough oil to fill heavy-bottomed pot about 5 inches. Heat over medium flame until oil is *375.
• In large mixing bowl, combine the rice, Parmesan and 1 egg. Get in there and use your hands like grandma did to completely combine mixture. Grab enough mixture to form a cheesy rice ball about the size of a ping pong ball. Tuck a cube of mozzarella in the middle. The trick here is to squeeze it good and firm. If you don't you will end up with fried goop. No one wants that. Repeat until all mix is used. This should make about 8-10 cheesy rice balls.
• In shallow dish, mix Panko and breadcrumbs together. Set aside. In small bowl, whisk those last 2 eggs. Dip each rice ball in the eggs and then roll them in the Panko.
• Your oil should have reached *375 by now. Carefully slide 3 of the panko coated rice balls to the pot. Fry them until golden brown (about 2 minutes) Use a slotted spoon to remove from oil and place on paper towel lined plate. Toss on a pinch of salt. Continue to slide, fry, drain until all cheesy rice balls are fried.

DEEP-FRIED RICE BALLS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring the water, rice, butter, salt and pepper to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-18 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Cool slightly., In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cheese, parsley and rice. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Place bread crumbs in a shallow bowl. Shape 1/2 cupfuls of rice mixture into balls; roll in bread crumbs., In a deep-fat fryer or electric skillet, heat oil to 375°. Fry rice balls, a few at a time until golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

ITALIAN RICE BALLS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cheese, parsley, pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and refrigerate.
• Pour water and 1 teaspoon salt into a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in rice and reduce heat to low. Cook rice until water is almost absorbed, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and slowly pour in egg mixture, stirring rapidly to prevent egg from scrambling. Allow rice mixture to cool for 1 hour.
• Pour bread crumbs into a pile on one end of a cutting board. Dampen hands and roll rice mixture into 1 inch balls, then coat each one with bread crumbs.
• In a small, deep skillet, heat olive oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). (Should have enough oil to completely cover rice balls.) Fry rice balls 6 at a time, turning as needed to ensure even browning. Drain on paper towels and serve warm.

CHEESY RICE BALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and drizzle with oil. Spread bread crumbs on a plate and set aside.
• Stir rice with egg, parmesan and salt in a medium bowl. Gather 1/3 cup of rice mixture and form into a ball using wet hands. Tuck a mozzarella cube into the centre, then reshape into a ball.
• Roll each ball through bread crumbs, just enough to lightly coat. Place on foil-lined baking sheet and roll in oil to coat. Repeat with remaining rice, bread crumbs and oil. There will be 6 balls. Bake in centre of oven until golden, about 25 minutes, turning halfway through.
• Additional back-to-school snack recipes can be found at www.walmart.ca/recipes.

CHEESY RICE BALL FRITTERS

Steps:

• Preheat a deep-fryer to 375 degrees F.
• Saute the shallot and garlic with the butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the ham, cook until lightly crisp and then stir in the rice.
• Mix the ham mixture, cream cheese, Parmesan, mozzarella, and parsley together in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Roll the mixture into 2-inch balls and put on a baking sheet.
• Add the flour, beaten eggs, and panko to separate pie plates. Season the panko with salt and pepper. Roll the balls through the flour, then the egg and then the panko. Gently add the fritters to the deep-fryer and fry until golden and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the fritters to a serving platter and serve.

SAVOURY RICE BALLS

Steps:

• Cook rice until tender.
• Whilst rice is cooking whisk in a medium bowl, eggs, cheese, parsley, tomatoes, olives, pepper and salt.
• Cover and refrigerate.
• When rice is cooked, drain and slowly pour in egg mixture, stirring quickly to prevent egg from scrambling.
• Cool mixture for 1 hour in refrigerator.
• Place breadcrumbs in bowl.
• Dampen hands and roll rice mixture into 3cm balls and coat in breadcrumbs.
• In small skillet heat oil.
• Fry rice balls, turning as needed to ensure even browning.
• Drain on paper towels.
• Serve warm.