Italian Rice Balls

Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr 30 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste (recipe originally called for 1 tsp)
• 2 1/4 cups low sodium chicken broth or 2 1/4 cups water
• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 1 1/2 cups dried breadcrumbs
• 2 cups olive oil or 2 cups vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, in cubes (optional)

Recipe

• 1 in a bowl whisk together the eggs, parmesan cheese, basil or parsley (i prefer basil), pepper, and salt; cover and refrigerate.
• 2 pour the chicken broth (or water and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt) into a large saucepan and bring to a boil; stir in the rice, cover and reduce the heat to low.
• 3 cook the rice until liquid is almost absorbed, about 15 to 17 minutes.
• 4 remove from heat and gradually pour in egg mixture, continually stirring rapidly to coat the surface of the rice and prevent the egg from scrambling; allow rice mixture to cool in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• 5 pour bread crumbs into a shallow dish.
• 6 dampen your hands with water and create 1-inch balls from the rice mixture, then coat each one with bread crumbs.
• 7 in a small, deep skillet, heat enough oil to cover the rice balls to an adequate frying temperature (350 degrees f) so that a piece of rice from the mixture actively sizzles when dropped in; alternately, a deep fryer may be used.
• 8 fry the rice balls 4 to 6 at a time, turning as needed to ensure even browning.
• 9 drain on paper towels, then serve warm as is or with a bit of marinara sauce.
• 10 another nice touch you can use with these is to put a small cube of mozzarella cheese in the middle of each rice ball!