Chef Philip Guardione is from Catania, emigrated to the States when he was 24 years old, now runs three restaurants in the Big Apple and makes traditional Sicilian dishes known abroad. His passion for cooking is linked to his family and memories as a child when he watched his grandmother cooking. He has traveled a lot and had various experiences abroad, but you can only find Sicilian cuisine in his restaurants because it is the one he wants to make known to the whole world.
Chef Guardione says that the island's cuisine is much loved abroad, especially the arancino, the most famous Sicilian food that he always proposes in an authentic way and respecting traditions and typical products. He is so passionate about it that he established December 13th as Arancino Day, during which they are served all day long in his New York restaurants.
Impossible not to share his recipe with you and… buon appetito!
Chef Philip Guardione
Arancino Catanese by chef Philip Guardione
Ingredients for 4
For the rice balls
1 kg rice
2,5 l water
2 bags of saffron
80 g grated pecorino cheese
salt
For frying
2 l peanut oil
3-4 eggs
breadcrumbs
For the filling
1 onion
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
1 bay leaf
2 spoons of tomato paste
1/2 glass of white wine \
220 g grated caciocavallo cheese
250 g minced beef
250 g minced pork
200 g peas
salt
Method
In a non-stick pan sauté in oil the chopped onion, carrot and celery.
Add the minced beef and pork, brown over a high flame and dowse with the wine.
Add the tomato paste, a glass of water, the bay leaf, the peas and cook at low heat for two hours, with the lid on. If it seems to dry out too much, add more water.
Once the sauce is cooked, add the caciocavallo cheese, stir well and add salt to taste.
Remove the bay leaf.
Prepare the rice by boiling it in a pot with a little slightly salted water and saffron. Drain al dente.
Add pecorino cheese and move the rice on a tray to let cool.
When cold, take a palmful of rice, form it into balls and make a dip in the middle.
Fill in the dip with a little sauce and close with rice, forming a ball.
When the rice balls are ready, dip them in the beaten eggs and then in the breadcrumbs.
Heat the oil well and fry each side for a few minutes until they are golden, then drain on a paper towel and serve warm.