Italian Fried Rice Balls
2 cups
long-grain rice
1 quart homemade chicken stock
1/2 cup (1/4 pound) butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup grated cheese (Parmesan or Romano)
2 eggs, well beaten
1/4 pound lean ground beef
1/4 pound lean ground pork
1/2 cup each (diced, about 1/4 inch)
Genoa salami
Mortadella
Provolone cheese
Mozzarella cheese
2 additional beaten eggs for dipping
2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs for coating
Peanut oil for deep-frying
Wash and drain the rice and place in a 2-quart saucepan which can be covered.
Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, uncovered. Once boiling, reduce heat
to low and cover, simmering for 20 minutes, and then removing from heat and
leaving covered for another 20 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, stir into the rice the melted butter,
parsley, parmesan or Romano and the beaten eggs. Gently but thoroughly blend and
leave to cool.
In a skillet, sauté together the ground pork and beef. Drain
off any fat and cool. Add to this the diced coldcuts and cheeses, mixing all
together well by hand.
With moist, but not wet hands, form a ball of the rice
mixture roughly the size of a golf ball (about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches in
diameter) in the palm of one hand, and, using the other thumb, make a depression
as deep as the first joint of your thumb. Into this depression, place some of
the meat/cheese mixture. Pull the rice surrounding the hole over the filling to
cover and seal the filling.
When all of the balls have been formed in this fashion (you
may or may not have a bit of filling left over), dip each ball quickly in beaten
egg and then roll in breadcrumbs to coat.
Heat the peanut oil to 350° in a skillet or wok. You want the
oil to be about as deep as the radius of your finished rice balls.
Fry the rice balls a few at a time, gently turning with a
spoon until light brown all over. Drain the cooked rice balls on brown paper and
keep warm until serving.