Arancini with beef ragù

Very finely chop the onion and carrot. Heat 10 ml olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the vegetables for about 5 minutes, stirring. Add the ground beef, increase the heat to medium-high, and cook for about 6–7 minutes, breaking the meat into small pieces, until it loses its raw color and browns in places. Add the tomato paste and stir for 1 minute. Pour in the passata and 50 ml water, then season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook uncovered over low heat for about 20–25 minutes, stirring frequently toward the end. Add the frozen peas and cook for about 5 more minutes, until tender. The finished ragù should be very thick: a spoon drawn through it should leave a clear trail, and there should be no watery sauce pooling around the meat. Reduce for a few more minutes if needed. Prepare the rice while the ragù cooks. Immediately transfer the finished filling to a shallow dish and begin the cooling process described in step 3; do not wait until the rice is ready.

Bring 800 ml broth to a boil in a pot. Add the lightly crushed saffron threads and the dry, unrinsed rice. Stir, lower the heat, and cook uncovered for about 18–20 minutes, stirring regularly, especially toward the end, so the rice does not stick. The grains should be cooked and sticky, without a hard, chalky center, and any free liquid should be completely absorbed or evaporated. If the rice is still firm and the liquid has gone, add hot water in 25 ml increments from the reserve of up to 100 ml and continue cooking. Do not rinse the cooked rice and do not drain it. Remove from the heat and stir in 25 g butter and 35 g Parmesan. Taste and add a little salt if needed, remembering that the broth and cheese contain salt. Immediately spread the rice in a thin layer as described in the next step.

Spread the rice on a clean metal tray in a layer no thicker than about 2 cm, and put the ragù in a separate shallow dish. If they do not fit in thin layers, use additional dishes. Leave for just a few minutes until they stop steaming heavily, then cover loosely and refrigerate at a temperature no higher than 5°C, away from raw foods. Do not wait for them to cool completely on the counter, and do not leave the rice in the warm pot. Refrigerate the rice as soon as possible, before 1 hour has passed since cooking. Allow about 90 minutes in total to chill the thin layers quickly; extend the chilling time if needed. Both ingredients must be completely cold, including in the center, before shaping. Do not assemble arancini with warm rice or lukewarm filling.

Gently stir the cold rice to even out its texture, but do not mash the grains into a paste. Weigh the entire batch and divide it into 16 equal portions. Separately divide the cold ragù into 16 portions. Depending on how much liquid has evaporated, this will be roughly 60–70 g rice and 20–25 g filling per ball; dividing the full prepared batches evenly matters more than these approximate weights. Cut the mozzarella into 16 pieces of 5 g each. Have ready a tray lined with parchment paper, a bowl of cold water for moistening your hands, and a kitchen scale. Take only a few portions out of the refrigerator at a time, keeping the remaining rice, ragù, and cheese chilled while you shape the balls.

Lightly wet your hands with water and shake off the excess. Flatten most of a portion of rice in your palm, shaping it into a cup with a hollow. Place a portion of ragù and a piece of mozzarella in the center. Leave a clean rim of rice without filling. Add the remaining rice from the same portion, bring the edges together, and press gently until the filling is completely enclosed. Roll between your palms to make an even, round ball. The surface should be compact, without cracks or exposed meat. Do not add more filling than fits without tearing the rice casing. Make all 16 balls in the same way. Place the shaped balls on the tray and keep refrigerated until coating.

In a bowl, whisk 100 g flour with 150 ml cold water into a smooth batter without lumps. It should coat a spoon thinly, with the excess running off freely. Put the breadcrumbs in a separate wide dish. Dip each cold ball into the batter, let the excess drip off, and coat thoroughly in breadcrumbs. Press the coating on lightly, especially at the seam, without squashing the ball. Arrange in a single layer on a clean tray. Coat a few at a time, keeping both the coated balls and those awaiting coating in the refrigerator. Eggs are not needed. Do not force any unused batter or breadcrumbs onto the balls; some coating may be left over.

Pour 1200 ml oil into a stable, tall, heavy-bottomed pot with an internal diameter of about 16 cm. The oil will be about 6 cm deep. The pot must be tall enough for the oil to reach no higher than halfway up its sides, even after adding the balls. Have ready a kitchen thermometer, a slotted spoon, and a rack set over a baking sheet. Heat the oil to 170–175°C. Carefully lower in 3–4 cold arancini at a time, leaving space between them; keep the rest in the refrigerator. Fry for about 6–8 minutes, turning gently, until evenly golden brown. Maintain the temperature within the stated range and wait for the oil to heat back up before adding the next batch. Check the first ball with a thermometer: the center should reach at least 75°C for 30 seconds. The color of the coating alone does not confirm that the cold filling has heated through. Fry a little longer if needed, making sure the coating does not burn. Do not overcrowd the pot and do not leave the hot oil unattended.

Lift the arancini out with a slotted spoon, letting the oil drain back into the pot, and place on the rack in a single layer. Wait about 5 minutes before serving: the coating will stay crisp while the very hot center cools slightly. Serve each batch freshly fried, with two balls per serving. The recipe makes 16 arancini, or 8 appetizer servings. You can cut a ball open to show the yellow rice, thick ragù with peas, and soft mozzarella. Do not cover the finished arancini tightly, as trapped steam will soften the coating.