Recipe by Pino Cuttaia: Rice arancini with red mullet ragout and wild fennel

Ingredients for 4 people

1 liter of water
500 g of Carnaroli rice
½ white onion
2 sachets of saffron
50 g of butter
Extra virgin olive oil as needed
Salt and pepper to taste

For the red mullet ragout

250 g of red mullet
25 g of wild fennel (net of waste)
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
15 g of pine nuts
15 g of black raisins
1 sachet of saffron
½ chopped onion

For the red mullet soup

Heads and bones of red mullet
Extra virgin olive oil
250 g of tomato passata
1 clove of garlic
Parsley as needed
Salt as needed
Extra virgin olive oil as needed

For breading

Egg white
Toasted stale bread crumbs

For the red mullet ragout

Gently scale the red mullets, then cut off the head and fillet them, keeping the scraps for the soup.

Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onion, pine nuts, finely chopped tender part of fennel, and tomato paste.

Sauté gently, then add saffron and red mullet fillets. Season with salt and pepper, and cook the ragout until done. Let it cool.

For the rice

Finely chop the onion and sauté in a pan with oil, then add water, 20 g of salt, and saffron, and bring to a boil.

Add rice to the pan and cook, stirring, until all the water evaporates.

Off the heat, add a grind of pepper and butter pieces, and stir to combine; then spread the rice on a surface to cool.

For the red mullet soup

Dry the red mullet bones in the oven at 60°C, then fry them in a little hot oil until crispy.

Heat a little oil in a pan and sauté the garlic clove. When golden, add parsley, tomato passata, and, after a few minutes of simmering, add the red mullet heads and turn off the heat.

Strain the mixture, add the fried bones, blend everything, strain again; finally, adjust salt to enhance the fried taste.

For the arancini

Fill a half-spherical mold with the cold rice, press firmly; make a hollow and fill it with red mullet ragout.

Unmold it and shape the arancino, enclosing the ragout inside. Brush the arancino with egg white, coat it with breadcrumbs, and bake it in the oven at 200°C for 10 minutes.