Arancini (Rice Balls)

This recipe comes from Jeff Smith's The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine.

2 cups short-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 remove 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, saute 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.