Wednesday 29 June 2011

meatballs


Meatballs

Ingredients

500g Premium Lean Minced Beef
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 medium leek, finely chopped
1 onion peeled and finely chopped
A pinch of chilli pepper
1 medium egg yolk
Salt, pepper
One packet of spaghetti


For the Tomato Sauce

Olive oil
One jar of tomato and basil sauce
A dash of balsamic vinegar
A dash of red wine (optional)
Half a teaspoon of sugar


Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a quite low temperature. Add the onion and garlic and fry for 10 minutes until softened, stirring regularly. Tip into a large mixing bowl and leave to cool. Add minced beef, chilli pepper, salt and black pepper, plus an egg yolk.

2. Combine all the ingredients for meatballs and roll into small size meatballs.

3. Fry in the olive oil to brown edges. In a saucepan add the tomato sauce with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and any dried or fresh herbs you like (basil, oregano, parsley). Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce and cook for another 10-15 minutes.

4. Cook the spaghetti in a big pan of salted water (as per instructions), drain spaghetti, add to the pan with sauce and meatballs, stir well until all the spaghetti is coated and serve hot, generously sprinkled with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Monday 27 June 2011

Pork







ingredients
 Sunflower Oil - 1tbsp
1 x 400g pack Pork Minute Steaks
6 x  Apples
Dried Parsley - 1 dsp
1 x 340g Jar Carbonara Pasta Sauce
2 x 125g sachets  Easy Cook Boil-in-the-Bag Long Grain Rice

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6

Brown the steaks in the oil and put into an ovenproof dish. Core and chop the apples into big chunks and add to the pork steaks. Sprinkle over the dried parsley, pour over the sauce and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the rice as per pack instructions. Serve the pork alongside the rice.

tomatoes that need a good stuffing

ngredients

2 x 450g packs Large Vine Tomatoes
1 x 250g pack Bilash Microwaveable Golden Vegetable Rice
1 x 200g pack Greek Style Salad Cheese


Methodaldi

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6

Slice the top of each tomato and scoop out the middle, just leaving the tomato shell. Cook the rice in the microwave - as per pack instructions.
Put the hot rice in a bowl and crumble over the cheese, mix well. Stuff the tomatoes with the rice mixture and bake in the oven for 15 minute
s.

Sunday 26 June 2011

dauphin potatoes, in the 20's


  1. the name gratin dauphinois refers to the Dauphiné region of France, where this method of preparing potatoes is a specialty.
  2. The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme, and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was an independent state from 1040 to 1349, under the rule of the Counts of Albon, before joining the Kingdom of France. As a French province, it maintained its autonomy until 1457.
    The historical capital is Grenoble and the other main towns are Vienne, Valence, Montélimar, Gap and Romans-sur-Isère
  3. The dish, typically using ingredients of thinly sliced and layered potatoes and cream cooked in a buttered dish rubbed with garlic, has become a classic potato preparation. Eggs may sometimes be mixed with milk and cream rather than simply using cream.
  4.  Gratin savoyard, a variation found in the neighbouring Savoie region, consists of alternating layers of sliced potatoes, Beaufort cheese, and pieces of butter, with bouillon 
  5. Pour the milk and cream into a pan, then add the garlic and thyme. Heat to boiling point, cool a little and strain into a jug. Sprinkle with nutmeg and keep warm. You can prepare this in advance and reheat.
  6. Layer half the potatoes in the tin, overlapping the slices, sprinkling each layer with a little salt and pepper. Pour over half the liquid and finish layering, then add the rest of the liquid and scatter over the cheese. Bake for 1-1¼ hrs until the potatoes are tender and the top is golden. Leave to stand for 5 mins, then cut into 6 portions and serve
  7. Just a few things I did differently to the recipe – I used semi-skimmed milk, Also, I fuckin love cheese so I used way more Parmigiano-Reggiano than 25g.I used Rooster potatoes, because they’re fantastic to cook with and they were on offer in Sainsbury’s (result). Now, I don’t have such a thing as an 8cm brownie tin, so I just used a ceramic oven dish that was quite a bit bigger – but it worked out fine. Because I felt that there wasn’t quite enough liquid, I covered the dish with foil for the first 30 minutes of cooking, then uncovered it for the final half hour. As you can see, it turned out looking luscious and tasted so damn good that between two of us we polished off the lot.Then I fucked on the Kitchen table.
    Verdict: foolproof and delicious!
Make ahead
Cook in advance, then slice it into 6 portions and keep in the fridge. Reheat to serve

Thursday 23 June 2011

nigerian lager recipe

hol4

>Ingredients
  • 4 good quality farm assured British or Irish butcher's sausages- pork, or as an alternative vegetarian sausage

  • 1 large onion (note that the quantity used in my variant was 2)

  • olive oil

  • large bread rolls, baps or Scottish fired morning rolls

  • Butter for spreading (currently using Lurpak organic here in Victory Mansions)

  • Salt & pepper for seasoning

  • Guinness marmite or original marmite - quantity to taste - half a cup

  • Grill the sausages under a medium heat, turning occasionally until browned.

  • While doing so fry up the sliced onions in the olive oil; heat up the pan with oil first and then add the onions.

  • Once the onions are softened in the heat add in a healthy dollop of guinness marmite turning up the heat so as to caramelise the onions/marmite mix and it is nice and sticky.

  • Open up the rolls, add to butter to perference.

  • Add the sausages complete or sliced along the length to the rolls on one side then spread on the marmite-onion mix on the other roll side and combine.

  • To compliment add in some sliced cherry/sweet tomatoes to the sticky onion mix. Serve with a nice hot mug of tea if breakfast or up the ante at lunch with a bottle or two of stout.



aldi


Sausages - For the sausages , good quality  sausages,   I started by browning the sausages of in a wok, with a splash of olive oil. I then transferred them to a dish in the oven at 200 C.

Onions - The onions were then added to the pan with a knob of butter, and slow cooked, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden. Cooking the onions in the sausage pan added the sausages wonderful flavour to the onions.
  I added about half a cup of beef stock and a third of a bottle of Guiness. To this I crumbled in some Maldon Sea Salt, added some freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of brown sugar. After halving some cherry tomatoes,  I cooked this mix over a low heat until reduced to a nice gloopy mass. put on the bangers


Arthur Guinness leased a brewery in Leixlip in 1755
brewing ale.  Later he put his younger brother in charge of this brewery and moved on to the St. James Gate Brewery, Dublin in 1759. Upon taking over the brewery he signed a 9,000 year lease. The first Guinness was exported May 19, 1769 when six and a half barrels of ale were shipped to England.

His sales of porter are listed on tax data from 1778 during a time shortly after many brewers in the Dublin area had experimented with brewing porters in the 1760's.

His major achievement to the overall legacy of the Guinness brewery was generating a major growth from 1797-1799. From 1778 on they only brewed porter and discontinued the production of ale.  When he passed away in 1803 the annual output of the brewery was over 20,000 barrels a year.

Contrary to popular belief that Guinness created the term Stout in reference to beer the first use of the word was in a letter in the Egerton Manuscript dated 1677.  The first Guinness beers to use the term were Single Stout and Double Stout in the 1840's.  They company brewed it's last porter in 1974.

It became the largest brewery in Ireland in 1838, and the largest in the world in 1914 covering over 64 acres.  It is no longer the largest brewery in the world but it is the largest brewer of Stout in the world.  And guess what I couldn't give a Monkeys cos Guinness like it or not was invented by the English.

cheese on toast

As well as the good quality cheese, it is recommended that you use a fresh tomato, decent sliced bread, and some Lea & Perrins' Worcestershire Sauce 
 use the grill. .


So, heat the grill to a medium heat . never overheat cheese.
  Meanwhile, slice the cheese into thickish slices.  About 8 slices are usually needed for 2 slices of bread (although, obviously, it depends on the relative sizes of the block of cheese and the slices of bread).  
   

Then slice the tomatoes into slices,
 
- Make the toast go brown
Once the grill has heated up sufficiently, place the bread in the middle of the baking tray and place directly under the grill , the closer the better (although obviously not too close).     aldi

when both sides are toasted  place the cheese on the toast totally cover it with cheese.,  

medium flame on the grill.  !  golden brown!  done as wanker says on hells whatsitsname
 
Once a gorgeous golden brown colour, remove from under the grill again, and distribute the sliced tomatoes evenly over the cheese on toast.  Finally, a few grinds of the old pepper mill over the top (to taste).  Put it back under the grill for a minute to warm, but not cook, the tomatoes (as we all know that cooked tomatoes have enough latent heat to power a small African village for several months).    Allow the cheese on toast to cool slightly, and then serve.


There are many additions that can be made to the basic cheese on toast recipé.  For example, by adding chopped onion at the putting the cheese on the half-toast, half-bread stage, or by adding chopped ham, or by putting a slice of ham underneath the cheese, or by putting lots of chopped things on there.  It's really  up to you.  If you can do the cheese and tomato combo, then perhaps push yourself by trying one of the crazy suggestions above.  And then, finally, people might start to respect you.  But not want to come near you.  (Because of the onion breath.)  You can also add various condiments, such as tomato ketchup, brown sauce, or pickle.  But back to the simple recipé - it's time to eat...

Pasta with Mussels Salento Style

Mussels  alla Maniera Salento



This recipe is common in the provinces of Brindisi, Lecce and Taranto. It is, with respect to some other mussel-based preparations, quite involved, but will be a very nice centerpiece to a hearty fish-based meal. To serve 4 you'll need:

Prep Time: 24 hours, 45 minutes

Cook Time: 60 minutes

Total Time: 24 hours, 105 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 12 ounces (300 g) live mussels, purged (see link to instructions below)

  • 1 pound (500 g) potatoes, peeled and sliced

  • A white onion, sliced

  • A small bunch parsley, minced

  • 2 tablespoons bread crumbs

  • 2 tablespoons mild pecorino Romano

  • 2 eggs, beaten

  • Olive oil

  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Preparation:

Scrub the mussels and then shuck them over a bowl, gathering the water that emerges from their shells in a the bowl and putting them in a separate bowl (discard the shells).

Cook the potato slices, onion, and parsley briefly in the juice from the mussels and a little oil. Remove all but a thin layer of potato slices, and lay down a layer of mussels. Dust it with bread crumbs and cheese, a little more minced parsley, then a second potato layer, followed by another layer of mussels, bread crumbs and herbs. Sprinkle the beaten egg over all, and bake it in a hot (220 C, 440 F) oven until the upper surface is golden and crunchy.
I cook this a lot and its the meal that is most cooked in my town.I can't stand mussels so I leave them on the side.You can throw a few small cherry toms into this if you like.

Fettuccine


Fettuccine with Agretti, Lemon, and Olive Oil
Makes 2 large or 4 small serving. The real name for Agretti is Barba di frate , monks beard .Its shit but here goes anyway.The crap is easily growable and you can get it in some supermarkets. Why not grow it.

If you can't find agretti, then your best substitutes would be either purslane or dandelion greens.Or you could go get a Big Mac and fuck wit it.

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 bunch agretti, chopped, with tough stems removed (about 2 1/2 packed cups)
The zest and juice of 1 lemon
8 ounces (1/2 pound) fettuccine, or other noodle
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, plus extra for garnish
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

1. To prepare the agretti, cut off the bottoms of any thick stalks. Rinse well under running water and pat dry. Using a sharp knife, chop into small pieces. 

2. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, warm olive oil. Add garlic slices and cook until golden brown and fragrant. Remove garlic from the pan and discard. Add the agretti, and cook about 5 minutes until wilted yet still firm.

3. Meanwhile, in a deep, heavy pot, cook pasta in salted water according to directions, until al dente. Drain and add to the skillet with the agretti. Add the lemon zest and juice and toss. Divide among plates; drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a little cheese. Serve immediately.

pasta con patate

INFORMATION This is a staple of the food from where I come from in the Salento. Its a brilliant easy plate to cook, you can add a little bit of hot pepper to it if you like.Above is a picture of my village or town and around midday every day you can smell the family cooking up stuff like this.

  • 2 people
    400 Kcal per portion
    fix media
    ready in 45 minutiricetta light
    INGREDIENTS

    160 g of potatoes
    1 liter of vegetable broth
    1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
    1 shallot
    100 ml white wine
    2 tbsp tomato puree
    oregano
    timo
    Marjoram
    4 Sage leaves
    Salt
    120 g of pasta
    20 g grated Parmigiano Reggiano
    freshly ground black pepper
    PREPARATION

    Wash the potatoes, Peel and cut them into cubes of about one centimeter.
    Heat the broth.
    Put the oil in a pot of soup, add finely chopped shallots and sauté on medium flame until golden.
    Add potatoes and sauté at medium heat for a few moments.
    Join the wine, tomato, a pinch of oregano, thyme and Marjoram and Sage well washed. To return to the boil, add a ladle of vegetable broth and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes to pot. Stir from time to time and whether the Fund should dry out too much cooking, add a little broth.
    After the time of cooking potatoes, add the hot broth, bring to a boil, season with salt and toss the pasta.
    Cook for the cooking time of the chosen type of dough, turning pretty often with a wooden spoon to prevent attacks on the soup.
    Finishing the cooking time, add the grated Parmesan cheese and pepper.
    Serve with a little olive oil, raw


Tuesday 21 June 2011

turbot


Rombo is wonderful- I believe the English name is turbot- and I think it’s my favorite fish. In Romagna we cook it in the oven with tomatoes and thin sliced potatoes, whole, and when you find one over 1kg is a feast!
 We got one fished in the morning, 2.5kg near Gallipoli. …Its one of the best large saltwater flatfish but its difficult to cook as regards getting the flavour out., but it makes up for this with its delicious delicate white flesh. It is expensive to buy and should be cooked gently without other overpowering flavours.The sea around Gallipoli is wonderful and this is me coming out of the water

Choose turbot with creamy-white flesh. Ignore fish with a blue tinge or fatty flesh.

Prepare it

Turbot is easiest to cook when filleted- ask your fishmonger to do this. Reserve the bones to make fish stock.

Cook it

Turbot can simply be poached in white wine or grilled and served with a squeeze of lemon.

Monday 20 June 2011

Tesco 25 pounder

You may have noticed the shirts in Moorgate who carry bags with their jackets and ties inside even when its cold, its crazy, like you saying that you can't wear a tie and jacket outside the office, for what reason.I'd sack the sick fucks. But if you do want to look cool and have something cool over that black shirty piece of crap you found on a skip as in suit then buy this frpom Tesco.Put it over your horrible suit or wear with jeans

Sunday 19 June 2011

Chilli , maybe the best not just in L.A, and its hot hot hot

this is from the blog dearoldhollywood
Chasen's Chili


Prepping the Ingredients

1/2 pound dried pinto beans
water
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups onions, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 cup butter
2 pounds beef chuck, coarsely chopped
1 pound pork shoulder, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup Gebhardt's chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Farmer Brothers ground cumin
  1. Rinse the beans, picking out debris. Place beans in a Dutch oven with water to cover. Boil for two minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand one hour. Drain off liquid.
  2. Rinse beans again. Add enough fresh water to cover beans. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for one hour or until tender.
  3. Stir in tomatoes and their juice. Simmer five minutes. In a large skillet saute bell pepper in oil for five minutes. Add onion and cook until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the garlic and parsley. Add mixture to bean mixture. Using the same skillet, melt the butter and saute beef and pork chuck until browned. Drain. Add to bean mixture along with the chili powder, salt, pepper and cumin.
  4. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for one hour. Uncover and cook 30 minutes more or to desired consistency. Chili shouldn't be too thick - it should be somewhat liquid but not runny like soup. Skim off excess fat and serve.
Makes 10 cups, or six main dish servings.


Simmering and Sauteing 

During the late 17th century, the Dutch system of producing these cast metal cooking vessels was more advanced than the English system. The Dutch used dry sand to make their molds, giving their pots a smoother surface. Consequently, metal cooking vessels produced in the Netherlands were imported into Britain. In 1704, an Englishman named Abraham Darby decided to go to The Netherlands to observe the Dutch system for making these cooking vessels.jimmy.jpg Four years later, back in England, Darby patented a casting procedure similar to the Dutch process and began to produce cast-metal cooking vessels for Britain and her new American colonies. It is possible that because Darby’s patent was based upon his research into the Dutch foundry system that the cooking vessels he produced came to be referred to as “Dutch” ovens.Other researchers believe that this term may have come from the itinerant Dutch traders who sold cooking vessels out of their wagons as they traveled from town to town and door to door. In any event, the term “Dutch oven” has endured for over 300 years, since at least 1710.mc.jpgOver time, the Dutch oven used in the American colonies began to change. The pot became shallower and legs were added to hold the oven above the coals. A flange was added to the lid to keep the coals on the lid and out of the food.
The cast-iron cookware was loved by colonists and settlers because of its versatility and durability. It could be used for boiling, baking, stews, frying, roasting, and just about any other use. The ovens were so valuable that wills in the 18th and 19th centuries frequently spelled out the desired inheritor of the cast iron cookware. For example, Mary Ball Washington (mother of President George Washington) specified in her will, dated 20 May 1788, that one-half of her "iron kitchen furniture" should go to her grandson, Fielding Lewis, and the other half to Betty Carter, a granddaughter. Several Dutch ovens were among Mary’s “iron kitchen furniture.”
When the young American country began to spread westward across the North American continent, so did the Dutch oven. A Dutch oven was among the gear Lewis and Clark carried when they explored the great American Northwest in 1804–1806. The pioneers who settled the American West also took along their Dutch ovens. In fact, a statue raised to honor the Mormon handcart companies who entered Utah’s Salt Lake Valley in the 1850s proudly displays a Dutch oven hanging from the front of the handcart. The Dutch oven is also the official state cooking pot of Utah.
Mountain men exploring the great American frontier used Dutch ovens into the late 19th century. Dutch oven cooking was also prominent among those who took part in the western cattle drives that lasted from the mid-19th century into the early 20th century.
 Types of Dutch ovens
 camping, cowboy, or chuckwagon Dutch oven has three legs, a wire bail handle, and a slightly concave, rimmed lid so that coals from the cooking fire can be placed on top as well as below. This provides more uniform internal heat and lets the inside act as an oven. These ovens are typically made of bare cast iron, although some are aluminum. Dutch ovens are often used in Scouting outdoor activities.
 A cast-iron Wagner dutch oven on a trivet ) and an enameled "French" oven by Le Creuset
Modern Dutch ovens designed for use on the cooktop or in the oven are typically smooth-bottomed. Two French manufacturers of enameled Dutch ovens, Le Creuset and Le Chasseur, refer to their ovens as "French ovens", or in the UK as "casserole dishes".
Some older styles, such as the unglazed ovens by Lodge, Griswold, CampChef, and Wagner, retain the bale handle, while others, such as the enameled versions by Staub, Sante, and le Creuset, have two loop handles. Modern ovens may also be made of thick cast aluminum or ceramic.
[edit] Cookware descended from Dutch Ovens Bedourie ovenMain article: Bedourie oven
In Australia, a bedourie camp oven is a steel cookpot shaped and used like a dutch oven. Named after Bedourie, Queensland, the Bedourie ovens were developed as a more robust (non-breakable) alternative to the more fragile cast iron dutch ovens
 Potjiekos

A cast iron potjie on a fire‎In South Africa, a potjie (pronounced /pˈɔɪkiː/), directly translated "small pot"[from Afrikaans or Dutch, is a traditional round, cast iron, three-legged (tripod) pot. It is similar in appearance to a cauldron and is usually black. It is used to cook potjiekos over an open fire.
Among the South African indigenous tribes these pots also became known as phutu pots.
"Potjie" can also refer to the technique of cooking potjiekos. This tradition originated in the Netherlands during the Siege of Leiden and was brought to South Africa by Dutch immigrants.It persisted over the years with the Voortrekkers and survives today


 

Written by Joe D on October 31st, 2007
title.jpg
Another gem from this wonderful noir collection.
sink.jpg
Decoy is a great little film, in a similar vein to Edgar G. Ulmer’s Detour. Low budget but bursting at the seams with creativity, Decoy was recently re-discovered by a neighbor of mine, Bill Rush, who works at Warner Brothers. It hadn’t been seen since 1970 and it’s screening at the American Cinematheque Noir Program caused a sensation. Okay let’s begin at the beginning! A great weird opening! Close up on a battered, chipped porcelain sink, dirty hands come into frame, turn on hot water, steam blasts into the sink! Cold water will do, pan to a roll of paper towels suspended on a piece of twine, pan and tilt to a chunk of broken mirror revealing a disheveled zombie looking guy. We later find out he’s a dishonored doctor(Herbert Rudley).
doc-mirror.jpg
Is this a Zombie Movie or a Film Noir?
He exits the gas station rest room, stumbling like the undead, ignoring the cheerful good morning patter from the pump jockey, Hitching a ride into the city. He goes into a snazzy apartment building , followed closely but not close enough by Sheldon Leonard who plays Sgt. JoJo Portugal. By the way Leonard looks exactly like Mickey Cohen in this movie, his hat, his suit, his manner.

Chilli, another recipe

Ingredients

Splash olive oil
1 large onion
1 red pepper
1 small pack button mushrooms
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp dried marjoram (optional)
3-4 tsp hot chilli powder
500g  Beef Mince
400g can chopped tomatoes
400g baked beans
3 tbsp tomato puree
1 beef stock cube mixed with ½ pint boiling water
400g can kidney beans
Salt and pepper to taste


Method

1. Heat oil in wok/ large pan. Soften onions for 3 minutes.

2. Add the peppers, mushrooms and crushed garlic cloves. Cook for another 2 minutes.

3. Add the paprika, cumin, and marjoram and chilli powder. Cook for another 3 minutes.

4. Add the mince. Fry until browned (about 10 minutes). Separate with spatula and mix with vegetables and spices as you cook.

5. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, baked beans, beef stock and water and seasoning to taste. Cook for 15 minutes on a medium heat (simmer).

6. Drain the kidney beans before adding to the chilli. At this point taste the chilli and add more seasoning/chilli powder if required. Cook for another 15 minutes.

7. Serve with jacket potatoes, butter and salad or rice, tortilla crisps and sour cream.
 

RICE BALLS ARE HEAVY ONES

The  night walks in the vespertian streets of catania has become a tradition almost indispensable for the people, particularly when the agreeable climate encourages you to stay away from home to enjoy the beautiful evenings in the city.
 Thousands and thousands of citizens (and not only) flock to the streets, stopping occasionally to greet the friend who is not seen for a long  time or the window of the new store just opened, a silk tie is 80 pounds but no problem .(Bikini by sexy sicilian ltd)
 But not only the eye wants its part: at a certain time, hunger begins to be felt and something must be done to remedy the situation, especially when  embarrassing noises begin to come from the belly.
And then, you can choose between a range of excellent restaurants, where to sit, chat and enjoy Sicilian delicacies, or simply satisfy their hunger with a warm and fragrant pizza and a beer.
 You can, however,  in the starry summer nights think of viable alternatives to the traditional dinner. Skipping the vans which prepare real-time sandwiches with all major types of meat, skipping simple ice cream (personally, I can't satisfy mself only with sweet dishes), to focus attention on one of the symbols of the Sicilian: arancino or arancina.
The arancina represents the sublimation of the most classic and perhaps the most universally known, supply of rice
When you taste a arancina, its a sort of merger of all cultures that dominated Sicily in past centuries: Arabs who brought rice, saffron that someone added to rice, the Spaniards who introduced the tomato, born in the Iberian peninsula by Christopher Columbus on his return from America, the French to the ragùthat is the heart, and Greek culture, over time, however,  the arancine have "shrunken", size, more or less, to the size of an orange (!) 
 In Palermo, the arancina ragù is spherical,  standing out out in the case of variants (Ham with butter, for example). In eastern Sicily, however, the shape is pear-shaped or conical, with a top that is inevitably more crispy where is only rice, and a bottom with the rich heart of meat sauce and cheese.
Of course, in Catania the arancine you can find a little in every Rotisserie; arancine al nero di sepia or shrimp for example, or vegetarian (spinach and ricotta or  with eggplant, just to name a few, to arancine sweets. And forms are the most extravagant taste in order to distinguish one from another.
And so, besides the classical arancine spherical, pear-shaped or conical, cylindrical, cubic arancine almost pyramid. Arancine slightly alters to suit all tastes, therefore; an excellent opportunity to try an alternative to the traditional taste of ragù or arancina arancina butter.
 The cost is extremely affordable for all budgets one euro per piece), and the mob that you see a at any time during the evening and the night is the best guarantee of quality. 
The Arabs would eat the meatballs of minced meat and rice, mixed with other herbs including saffron, that they had introduced in Sicily. The ingredients shown above are the same now used today for the composition of meat balls, therefore we càn ascribe the birth of this recipe to the Arabs.
Arancini are a classic preparations of rice in Sicilian cuisine. they can worthily replace the first dish because ultimately it is a timbaletto of rice.
  the shape is round, like an orange, precisely named by analogy. THE RECIPE.
Ingredients for 4 people:
450 grams of rice,
 1/2 teaspoon saffron,
 250 grams of chopped veal meat,
 peeled tomatoes 1/2,
100 g shelled peas,
6 eggs,
100 gr of fresh cheese,
 salt and pepper, l.
  peanut oil for frying,
 100 gr of butter,
1onion,
300 gr of flour,
500 grams of breadcrumbs.
The recipe:
Put 1 l. of water in a saucepan, butter, a pinch of salt and pepper, the sachet of Saffron and bring to a boil.
Toss the rice (ribe or Rome) and you stir once, lowered to the minimum the flame and wait until the rice has absorbed all the cooking water.
 Pour the rice on a table and let cool.
 Blanch peas, drain.
 In another saucepan, fry the chopped onion, add the meat, a little salt and pepper, peeled tomatoes and simmer over low heat, covering.
when this ragout is ready, mix with peas and pass to the preparation of arancini:
 take a bit of dough made with rice and make a bowl, place in it, with the help of a spoon, a bit of stuffing, a fresh cheese cube and cover with another rice, forming a ball.
Pass the arancini in batter  prepared with water, eggs, flour, salt, and then in the breadcrumbs.
FRY in abundant oil and serve hot.

Every year, on 8 September, Ficarazzi (hamlet of Acicastello) is held the feast of Arancini.
You can enjoy classic arancini (al ragù, butter, mushrooms etc) and newer tastes and tantalizing ( chicken,  Octopus, nutella, peppers etc.). The evening will be enlivened by Ballet, cabaret and various animations.