Street food is life, isn’t it? Whether it is tacos in Mexico City, the floating market in Bangkok or arancini in Florence it represents some of the best food their respective cities have to offer. Arancini is one of my favorites because you can basically have a mini complete meal in a delicious, fried package. I’ve made beef arancini before, and it had been too long since I made them. These pesto chicken arancini have a great summery vibe since they are slightly lighter and use lots of gorgeous summer basil in the pesto sauce.
With the size I made my pesto chicken arancini, I ended up with 18 total. I fried them up in 3 batches of 6 and drained them on paper towel when they were done. It took about 3-4 minutes per batch to get that crisp, golden brown and glorious crust. Fried food is best served immediately so that’s what I did. If you wanted to make them slightly ahead for a party you could transfer them to a sheet tray and put them in a 200 degree oven to keep them warm for about an hour. Oh my goodness, fried food is always good but these babies were sublime. The flavorful chicken and rice were so good together in that crust. Hope you all love them too! xoxo
When it comes to street food, it doesn't get much better than arancini. This pesto chicken arancini is incredible with so much texture and flavor.
- 3 cups cooked rice preferably day old
- 1 dash olive oil
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 whole onion diced small
- 2 pinches salt divided
- 2 pinches black pepper divided
- 4 tablespoons basil pesto sauce either homemade or jarred, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 whole eggs
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs
- canola oil for frying
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First, make sure your rice is cooked and cooled completely, preferably the day before. Then the day of making them, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Brown the ground chicken in it for a few minutes, then add the onion, 1 pinch salt, 1 pinch pepper, a tablespoon of the pesto, the dried parsley, dried basil and garlic powder. Let it all cook together for a few minutes, until the liquid has cooked off and the pan is dried. Set it aside to cool. Combine the rice, cooled chicken mixture, the remaining pinches of salt and pepper, the remaining 3 tablespoons of pesto sauce, two of the eggs and the parmesan. Stir it all together thoroughly until it really sticks together well and almost forms a dough. Set up a breading line with the flour in the first bowl, the two remaining eggs whisked together in the second bowl, and the breadcrumbs in the third bowl, followed by a large plate or platter to hold the breaded arancini.
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Make little balls of the rice mixture the size of your palm and put each one through the breading procedure with the flour first, then the eggs, then the breadcrumbs. When you've breaded all of your arancini, set the platter in the fridge for an hour to set. Once the chilling time is almost up, fill pot with 4-5 inches of canola oil and heat it up on medium high heat. Set a deep fry thermometer in to monitor the heat and make sure it gets to and stays around 350 degrees. Fry the arancini in batches of 6, with each batch taking about 3-4 minutes. They should get completely crisp and golden. Transfer them with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate as you fry them so the grease drains. Serve immediately hot and enjoy!!
Love how you have used the flavors of pesto here.
Thanks so much!!
I definitely have to try this one with my family! It sounds like something they’d enjoy.
They are so fun for kids to eat!!
These remind me of what my stepdad makes. I will have to make a batch and compare it to his.
Oh I love that, let me know how they compare!!
Hello…delish! I am definitely going to be making these!
Thanks very much, hope you love them!!
I can’t wait to try this! I love anything with pesto!
Pesto is the best!!