Hello dear friends!
I’m not sure if this is the right community to share this tradition, this custom that I’ve been carrying on for some time, but this morning, while I was preparing this traditional dish, I thought it would be a good idea to create this post to tell you about this tradition that I, in particular, try to keep alive. But it’s a tradition followed in Sicily and by all those with Sicilian roots.
Actually, my family’s origins are Sicilian. My grandparents moved to the Modena area many years ago for work reasons, representing the classic emigration from southern Italy to the north. As you know, historically, the southern regions were—and still are—much poorer than the northern ones.
So, my grandmother’s tradition was to prepare the famous arancini, which are now found all over the world. Anyone who goes on vacation in Sicily can find them at any time of the year. However, the tradition says they should be prepared and eaten specifically on Saint Lucy’s Day because, on this day, you should not eat either bread or pasta.
I’ve always kept this tradition alive, even after my grandmother passed away about two years ago. Thanks to her, I learned how to prepare this dish, which is famous worldwide, but more importantly, the tradition of eating them on Saint Lucy’s Day.
The ingredients are very simple. I use Thai rice, which is easy to put together. First, I prepare the filling, which usually consists of mozzarella, cooked ham, and spinach. Then, I cook the rice with a little saffron and pepper, which is why you see the yellowish tint in the rice.
Afterward, I assemble everything with the ingredients I prepared. You need to bread them in breadcrumbs, and in the end, they must be fried in hot oil, which I hadn’t done yet when I wrote this post. I believe you should fry them only a few hours before—or better yet, a few minutes before—eating them.
The ones I make, I eat the same day. I never store them or freeze them.
Naturally, my favorite arancini are the ones with meat, or those with butter and spinach. I think they are easy to make, even though the most complex part is the assembly, making sure the coating is thick enough so that the arancino doesn’t break and the filling doesn’t spill out.
I hope my post was interesting and helped you discover this tradition that is still carried on in Italy, and even some Sicilians living abroad continue to keep it alive there. See you soon, and I wish you all a wonderful day!