Which I have as a vegeterrible alternative to meatballs. A variation on a theme of many similar recipes, all of which seem to call for deep frying though. It has taken me many attempts, and most of those falling apart rice ball attempts, to get to this one which is spot-on.
- 100g of Arborio rice (accept no substitutes)
- 1 level desert spoon of flour
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- Dried herbs (Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, etc), pepper, salt, all ground as fine as possible
- 1 slice of crappy, generic British slice white bread, grated into “crumbs” as best as possible
- Mozzarella, grated
- Cheddar, grated
- Boil the rice until cooked, but not over-done. Rinse with cold water and refrigerate for a few hours.
- Go do something else. I cycled to Tesco for pear cider and mucked out a field.
- In a bowl, mix the chilled rice with everything else. Use your hands.
- Make balls.
- Shallow fry in Olive oil. Turning occasionally.
- Serve with pasta and a nice tomato based sauce (homemade, obviously).
[EDIT: 2025-12-12] Many years later… there is really no need for egg in this at all. Also panko bread crumbs work really well if you have them to hand.