Stuffed Rice Balls

Name: Stuffed Rice Balls
Yield: makes about 20 rice balls
Ingredients: 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 1 pound ground beef; 1/2 cup chopped onion; Salt; 1/4 cup grated carrots; 1/4 cup finely diced celery; One 14-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano) with juice, crushed; 1 teaspoon tomato paste; 1/2 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper; 1 cup fresh or frozen peas; 5 cups Chicken Stock (page 74), canned reduced-sodium chicken broth or water; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 2 cups short-grain rice, such as Carnaroli or Arborio; 4 large eggs; 2 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese; 2 eggs; 1 cup all-purpose flour; 2 cups fine, dry bread crumbs; 2/3 cup vegetable oil; 1/3 cup olive oil, plus extra for frying

By Lidia Bastianich

October 14, 2009

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Photo by Chelsea Kyle

Traditionally, this dish was made with short-grain rice, Arborio or Carnaroli, that’s been boiled in salted water with a little oil, and that’s how I make it here. If you have leftover risotto, you can use that instead of starting from scratch with the rice. On the other hand, if you have leftover Bolognese sauce, you can skip making the ragù; all you need do is to add some peas and a little water to the sauce and simmer until the peas are tender and the sauce is dense, not runny. The recipe for the ragù below makes about 3 cups, approximately twice as much as you’ll need. Either freeze the remaining ragù for your next batch of rice balls, or enjoy the sauce over pasta like rigatoni or penne.

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