👥12 people
⏲️1h 0m
🕐45m
🍽️starter
This dish takes a little work but the end result is well worth the time and effort!
Ingredients
- 3 ¾ cups homemade chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cups white rice
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 lb provolone, diced
- 1 cup hot olive mix, finely chopped
- 1 cup deli meat, salami, mortadella, etc, sliced thin
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 cups panko bread crumbs, finely ground in a food processor
- Vegetable, canola, or other neutral oil, for frying
- For The Sauce:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup mayo
- 2 tablespoons mustard
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
Method
- Preheat the Egg to 350º with a platesetter and dutch oven. Add oil to the dutch oven, then add the rice and stir until the grains become translucent and fragrant. Stir in 3 cups of the stock to make sure the grains don’t clump together. Let the rice cook for 10 minutes and then stir. Place the lid back on and continue cooking for another 5 to 10 minutes. After the rice is fully cooked, spread it out on a parchment lined sheet tray and place in the refrigerator to cool.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat until foaming. Stir in 2 tablespoons of flour to form a paste, lower the heat to medium, and cook, stirring constantly, until the raw-flour smell is gone but the flour has not browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in milk and remaining 3/4 cup of stock until smooth. Bring to a simmer, and continue to cook, stirring, until bechamel sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Scrape the rice into a large mixing bowl along with bechamel sauce and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment and scrape the rice filling onto each one, spreading it in a thin, even layer. Refrigerate the rice filling until thoroughly chilled and thickened.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce. Add the cream to a small saucepan and reduce on medium low heat. In a mixing bowl add ketchup, mayo, mustard, and hot sauce, stir to combine. Once the cream has reduced slightly, add the animal sauce, stir to combine, and remove from heat. Season with salt to taste.
- Transfer chilled rice filling to a large mixing bowl and re-line rimmed sheets with fresh parchment paper. Scoop a small handful (about 1/4 cup) of rice filling in one hand (avoid wetting hands with water even though the filling is sticky) and form it into a flat disk. Place a few small pieces of provolone, olive mix, and deli meat in the center of the disk and fold the rice around it to form a sphere with the cheese in the center. It may be difficult to form a perfect sphere at this point, but that's okay.
- Set up your breading station with one bowl each for flour, whisked eggs with a little water added, and bread crumbs. Season each with salt and pepper.
- Place your rice balls one at a time into the flour, then egg wash, and then bread crumbs. Next, place the breaded rice balls onto a sheet tray.
- Place your clean dutch oven back onto the platesetter and add enough oil to fill half way. Heat the oil until it reaches 350º. With a slotted spoon add the muffaletta-cini to the oil one at a time. Fry until golden brown and serve with warm sauce, garnish with parsley or file dust if desired.
