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| Platter of oraginis on my kitchen counter |
Oranginis are easy to make, but they
also taste great. An orangini is a deep fried rice ball that can contain pretty
much anything. They are usually prepared with meat or cheese, but I have seen
oranginis with peas, spinach, or even shrimp. They usually have a core of meat
and cheese, a middle of rice, and then an outside of crunchy deep fried bread
crumbs. The oranginis I have had in my life lack the core of a particular meat
or cheese, but rather have the meat and cheese mixed in with the rice. They are
prepared by frying garlic in olive oil until the garlic turns brown. Add
tomatoes to the garlic and simmer for about fifteen minutes. While the tomatoes
and garlic simmer boil rice until it is done. Once the rice is cooked add
cheese to it and let the cheese melt throughout the rice. Cook chopped sirloin
in a frying pan until they are cooked to satisfaction, but note that this
chopped sirloin can be replaced with any other kind of meat, shrimp, or
vegetable. Once everything is finished let it all cool for a few minutes and
then mix the meat, rice, and cheese with tomato sauce. Use your hands to form
the oranginis into spheres about the size of a small orange. Dip the rice balls
into beaten eggs and roll in bread crumbs to sufficiently coat the outer
surface. Once they are covered, deep fry them in olive oil till they brown. My
experience in this process has only occurred after the rice, cheese, meat, and
sauce has been mixed together. My babysitter would give me advice while I would
roll the orangini into balls. She told me to make sure they are firm and dense
to ensure they do not break apart when dropped into the frying oil.
I was wary when I began to search for
this dish on the internet. I have never really heard of it outside of my family
and the rice balls I have seen super markets never shared the same name. They
would usually be called “rice balls” and almost always taste worse than the
oranginis I know and love. I was further discouraged when I searched orangini
in the Oxford English Dictionary and
received no results. I realized, through my research, that my family uses an
incorrect spelling for the name of the dish. Orangini is my family’s anglicized
version of the actual name, “arancini”, the Italian word for “little orange” (Zeldes).
According to my father the alternate spelling originated because little
children are not able to speak well and create their own versions of words (Del
Re). The name derives from the Italian word for orange, arancia. Arancini have a
golden brown color and are about the size of an orange (Zeldes). Even though
the actual name is arancini, I will still refer to them as orangini. The Oxford Companion to Italian Food describes
oranginis “as a well-known bar snack, eaten freshly cooked and hot, so that the
soft filling contrasts with the crisp outside” (Riley, 23). Many varieties of
orangini exist, differing throughout the different regions of Italy.
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| courtesy of : http://www.flickr.com/photos/54564231 @N04/5257120547/ |
Italy used to be a decentralized nation and thus different regions would each have their own foods and variation on a specific dish. There are only few dishes that can tell as much about the peoples who have contributed to the island of Sicily over the centuries. They are said to have originated in Siciliy in the 10th century when rice and oranges were introduced to Sicily from the Middle East (Zeldes). Sicily maintains a strong presence of influence from the Middle East because of its proximity to Africa. The Moors moved through Africa and moved up through Italy (Chamberlain, 462). The canestrato fresco, a fresh, mild, cheese is often replaced with mozzarella from Greece. Arabs and the Middle contribute the rice and saffron, the French add the ragout, and the tomato sauce originates from the Spanish (Correnti). Although oranginis are considered a Sicilian food, my family is from Naples and the version we eat is closest to the Neapolitan style. The Neapolitan cousin of oranginis, Palle di Riso, incorporates peas, meats, and mozzarella. In palle di riso the cheese and the meat are mixed in the rice. This contrasts to the Sicilian style orangini, arancini di riso, which have centers with cubes of cheese (Riley, 23). Versions of oranginis in Rome are called suppli al telefono because the eater has to contend with the strings of cheese that form after each bite that resemble telephone wires (Zeldes). Italian cities were decentralized and disliked each other. Someone from Naples would not like someone from Sicily based simply on the fact that they are from Sicily. My father doubts that oranginis originated in Italy, despite all the evidence, because he still follows the divisions of old Italy. “People from Sicily are the lowest class Italians and oranginis are too tasty to have come from that dreadful Island” (Del Re). Regardless of where they are from, oranginis can only benefit from having such a diverse history.
Oranginis have been engrained into the Italian
culture. Italians hold a carnival in celebration of excessive eating before the
forty day fast of Lent. During Carnival, excess reigns everywhere and people
eat large amounts of food. This excess is not in terms of quantity, but rather
in eating a little of a wide variety of foods (Kostioukovitch, 158). In Rome
and the south, orangini make outstanding bar food. This embodies the southern
Italian tradition of eating while walking in the street. A person walks into a
bar and orders a drink with a small food item (Riley, 186). Oranginis are small,
easy to carry, and can be eaten with one hand, like an apple or orange (Kostioukovitch,
157). The popularity that oranginis
possess in Italy has carried over to America. Unsure of where or when oranginis
first came to America, my father assumes they came over with the immigrants.
Early recipes were shared by everybody who came from the same areas of Italy.
Millions of immigrants flowed into the United States from Naples and they moved
into the same neighborhoods, sharing their food (Del Re). Oranginis were immortalized
by the story of Andrea Camilleri in which the main character, Inspector Montalbano
goes through hijinks to get to his beloved oranginis (Riley, 23). Montalbano
narrowly escapes diverting the courses of justice to enjoy a feast of arancini to celebrate their short lived release
from jail (Camilleri).
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| example of Palle di Riso courtesy of: http://vittoriagourmet.blogspot.com/2011/05/arancini-italian-rice-ball.html |
Oranginis have been an important piece
of my family culture and history for generations. During an interview with my
father I learned many things about orangini, my father, and my ancestry. My
family is from a small town outside of Naples called Morcone. Oranginis
originated in my family through my father’s great grandmother. She found the
recipe and passed it on to my great grandmother, “Nanny” Dora (Del Re). The orangini
recipe is one of a few deep family recipes that are very important to my family
and our history, but it has changed over time.
Today my babysitter, Margarita, makes oranginis
for the family. Since Nanny Dora passed away, oranginis were not made until
twenty seven years ago, when Margarita came to work for my family. The recipe
came from my father’s paternal side and his mother never made them. Margarita got
parts of the recipe from my great Aunt Connie who could not remember every
detail, but Margarita filled in the gaps with her own ideas on what she should
include. This change in the recipe added a Central American influence to the
recipe. The recipe, just like culture, is always changing for better or for
worse. The culture that we have is an invisible bond that ties my family and
those around my family together. This connection is determined by both the past
and the present which strongly influence the future. According to my father,
Margarita’s recipe tastes good, but is not the same as the authentic Del Re
recipe he remembers from his childhood. Since Aunt Connie died, Margarita is
really the only one associated with my family that has the recipe memorized.
There are copies of the recipe floating around somewhere in the family
archives, but no one has been able to find it to use it. I do not want oranginis
to die out of my family so I intend to learn it from her as soon as I can
because I will not have my babysitter forever. Once I learn it from her I want
to make her version as well as Nanny Dora’s version and see how much it has
changed over the years. Seeing how it has changed will give me sense of where
my family has come from.
In my family oranginis are reserved for
special occasions. My father only had them on Christmas and Easter because they
were a lot of trouble to make. I never realized the emotional connection that my
father has with oranginis until after our interview. One of his most fond memories
as a child is his grandmother holding a big platter of oranginis at Christmas
when he was ten or twelve years old. He remembered all the adults and children
laughing and having a good time being together. My father, who is a stoic man, had
tears running down his eyes while recounting this story. I asked him what comes
to mind when he thinks about oranginis. He responded, with a big smile on his
face, “I think about my Nanny, family and happiness” (Del Re).
The definition stated by the Oxford Companion to Italian Food describes
oranginis as a bar snack or antipasto
(appetizer). This definition makes the dish seem as an insignificant part of
the meal, something they are not. Oranginis play a huge significance in my
family. They represent the bringing together of my family after long absences. Whether
it be coming back home from a vacation to my dog jumping for joy or seeing relatives I have not
seen for months or years, oranginis are only made for special events. Special
is what I define my experiences with oranginis. For my father, these special
occasions were big family holiday dinners, while my special occasions have been
coming home after long periods of time. Oranginis represent so much more than
just a great food in that they represent my family and how we can all be far
apart, but still be connected. I always look forward to coming home because I know
one thing will be waiting for me when I get back. I look forward to the
oranginis not only because they taste great, but also because oranginis mean I am
home, my family is there, and we are finally together again.
The orangini recipe has changed over
time, gathering influences from different cultures and peoples. In my family, oranginis
represent unity and the importance of being home. The importance of home was never
really clear to me until I went off to college in the fall. Home is so much
more than a place. Home is not only a physical location, but it is the family
you have, the people that you care about, and the food you love. Oranginis have
clearly been an important part of my family history. It is not merely a tasty
food that my family eats when we are together and on holidays. The traditions
that surround this small rice ball represent the bonds of family love that manage
to stay strong, even over long distances. To some people it is just an
antipasto, the beginning, but to my family it is the main course, the most
important. Even though the recipe has changed over time, the importance of
oranginis is still there. It is still and will always represent the importance
of family. I was unaware of the numerous family traditions and stories that
surround this dish. It just shows how incredible the history of something can
be and how central a role it plays in how you came to be and who you will become.
Recipe
- — 1 lb. of chopped sirloin
- — 2 lbs. of long grain rice
- — 1 1/2 lbs. of crushed tomatos
- — 1/2 lb. of fresh salted mozzerella
- — 1/2 lb. grated parmasean cheese
- — 1 fresh garlic clove chopped fine
- — 3 eggs and seasoned breadcrumbs
1.
Fry
garlic in olive oil until garlic is brown.
2.
Boil
rice until done.
3.
Add
tomatoes to garlic and simmer for 15 minutes.
4.
Cook
the chopped sirloin in the fry pan until half done.
5.
Add
cheese to rice and let stand until melted. Let all partly cool, then mix rice,
meat and sauce.
6.
Make
balls and dip into beaten eggs, roll in bread crumbs and
7.
Deep
fry in olive oil until brown. Mmmmmmm.
Works Cited
Camilleri, Andrea, Gli arancini di Montalbano. Milan, 1999. Print.
Chamberlain, Samuel. Italian Banquet: An Epicurean Tour of Italy. New York: Gourmet Books Inc.,
1958. Print.
Correnti, Pino. Il libro d'oro della cucina e dei vini di Sicilia. Milan: Mursia, 1976. Print
Del Rey, Alfred. Personal Interview. 17 Apr. 2012
Riley, Gillian. The Oxford companion to Italian Food. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.
Zeldes, Leah A. "Eat This! Arancini, great balls of flavor from Sicily" Dining Chicago. Dining Chicago,
21 Oct. 2009. Web. 15 Apr. 2009.
