The word arancine comes from the Italian for oranges since they are the same colour and shape. They have been made in various forms since the days of Arab rule and were made originally by the Tuareg, the pastoral nomads, with goat meat and couscous. It was the chef of Frederick II who replaced the couscous with rice so that the arancine held together better. Saffron was added as it was thought to make them last longer. Arancine were taken on hunting expeditions by the aristocracy so that they could eat without having to light a fire and thus draw attention to themselves. The chef also covered them in egg and breadcrumbs to provide further protection and it is this coating that gives the arancine their crunch. In this way, they are similar to Cornish pasties, as you were supposed to eat just the inside and discard the crust, which was dirty from being handled. The Sicilians have a particular kind of rice for this – an old variety that becomes sticky when cooked. They use the same rice in Spain for paella
In Palermo, the different flavours are denoted by the shapes: the cones are spinach, the rounds are mushroom, the oblongs are mozzarella and ham, and the balls are the original one, the ragu. They are huge and one is enough for a whole meal. In eastern Sicily, around Catania, the arancine have a more conical shape, reminiscent of Mount Etna. When the Spanish came they brought their French chefs, the monzù, and they made more delicate arancine, more like canapés.
The ragu in arancine is a little like the filling for cottage pie. It has minced (ground) meat, carrots, tomatoes and onions and is a little spicy. It contains a full-bodied red wine such as the typical Sicilian Nero d’Avola and lots of black pepper. The béchamel is a binder and helps the ragu hold together. Do play around with the flavours but a little béchamel is always a good idea. Here we have made one batch and split it in half for two different flavours. The rice in Palermo is yellow with saffron and has no tomatoes in it. Good arancine should have a lot of stuffing. The breadcrumbs should be fine and ideally the balls should be fried in lard, but seed oil is a good replacement.
Flavours are open to the imagination or what you have left over in the fridge. At the recently opened Ke Palle, a shop devoted to arancine in Via Maqueda, Palermo, you will find everything from pistachio, stracchino and speck to prawn (shrimp), spinach and ricotta, and even sweet ones filled with Nutella or pistachio cream.