They are called “arancine,” a feminine noun, because they have the shape and color of small oranges. These are balls of boiled rice, which, made golden by frying in extra virgin olive oil, contain ragù, saffron, and a small piece of cheese at the center - per the traditional recipes of Sicilian families. They are the queens of Sicilian street food. They serve primarily as an appetizer, but can also easily replace a first course.
A Curious Story that Comes from the East
The name “arancine” first appeared in Sicilian vocabulary at the end of the 1800s, although this tasty food has a much older origin. In fact, tradition attributes it to the Arabs, who dominated Sicily for almost four centuries from the beginning ninth century and imported rice, saffron, and oranges. Arabs, like many people in the East, ate with their fingers and often spread the rice in the palm of their left hand, placing tiny pieces of stewed meat in the concave formation so that it all could be eaten in one bite.
In the first half of 13th century, the Emperor Frederick II helped liberate Sicily from Arab domination, but small deployments of archers from the Arab world remained within the Christian armadas. These mercenaries continued to eat the balls of rice containing cooked meat in this fashion. Tradition states that it was the Emperor, fond of oriental food customs, who convinced his chef to cook this food in oil, because only in this way could it be transported and eaten more easily when riding or marching.
A Tasty Variation of Roman Cuisine
Today in many families, even in Sicily, various types of meat sauces with an array of proteins (often small pieces of prosciutto) and even vegetables are placed in the center of arancine. There is also a popular version of arancine in the traditional cuisine of Rome and Lazio in general, called “supplì” (from the French word ‘surprise’). The rice is cooked directly in the meat sauce, the final form of which is larger, elongated, or oval and contains a slice of mozzarella. This melts into the rice during the rapid oil frying. Then when the supplì, still hot, is separated with two hands to be eaten, the two separate parts remain united by threads of melted mozzarella. In the Roman tradition, this is called “supplì al telefono” because they resemble the old telephones whose parts were joined by wires.
The Right Wine
It is not easy to pair a wine with arancine, despite their small size, because they contain rice, meat, cheese, and often other condiments—all of which are then fried. Naturally the strongest flavor “commands,” which in this case is the meat sauce; therefore, a red wine with an intense flavor can go well, even if not particularly strong like Nero d’Avola of Tasca d’Almerita—a historic Sicilian company whose wines have been present for many years in the United States. Any of these with arancine makes for a complete Mediterranean pairing.
