arancini

One of my favorite bars in Oakland is Adesso. It is a simple bar opened by the Dopo people ('now' and 'after', respectively) and it has a nice modern decor, but still manages to have a warm feeling to it--maybe the lighting or the fuz (fooz?) ball table in the corner? The crowd is definitely from the neighborhood, although there are also people that come down from or over the hills to try the great charcuterie plates. Adesso serves fancy (and tasty) cocktails, pretty decent wine and snacky kind of food--a can't call it a restaurant. They specialize in charcuterie and patés, which are all home made and artisanal. Adesso also serves nice salads and raw oysters (which has always seemed random to me).  The salumi and paté that I have had is always good and the salami in particular is nicely inventive. I ordered the lamb prosciutto once too and loved it--you have to love lamb though! The wines by the glass list changes regularly  I have my own little complaints about the place, one being that it's just too dang expensive! Im always shocked at my bill when I walk out of there. I do like their 'free' aperitivi happy hours--twice daily! I guess if one is smart and a teetotaler, one could leave there satiated and happy spending less than 10$.  Well, not I. Especially since Im addicted to their arancini and a sucker for a good cocktail.

Arancini are Sicilian deep fried rice balls. I dont think that makes them sound as good as they are, so trust me. Anyway, a couple weeks ago one of the nice bartenders explained to me how to make them in detail and even showed me one that hadn't been fried yet so I could really check it out. Im not much of a deep fryer, but these and croquetas have won me over.

So I went home and I tried it. Take a ball of cheesy risotto, stuff it with ragú (mine was left over from the lasagne), roll it around in some bread crumbs and drop in a pan of hot olive oil and deep fry until golden--a kind of orangey color actually, which is where they get their name. At Adesso, they are little, like the about an inch and a half in diameter. I dont know whose little hands can make them that size, not my paws though.  The verdict? Well, not nearly as hard as I thought and pretty darn good! They werent as cheesy as Adesso's, next time I will have to add more parmesan to the risotto. I had added what I consider to be a 'normal' amount, about ¼ cup and put a small slice in with the ragú, but next time Ill put more. Also, their ragú is different...I have to investigate some more. The crust on mine was nice and crispy though and they were very flavorful. The secret is to have everything cold, or else the balls will come apart. I even chilled the balls again after I breaded them. Here's what they look like inside: