Italian Rice Balls and Gnocchi

   Happy Friday everyone! Last week I cooked a special all Italian inspired meal for Hubby and I to enjoy. Today I am going to share with you the Rice balls and Gnocchi I made and next week I will share the home made Zeppoles which are delicious fried Italian donuts!

    I looked and looked for a side dish that would be good to go with our gnocchi and found the idea of rice balls. These are fairly simple and use an interesting way to cook the rice. Inspired by all recipes, and a video from underground cookery school.

   First thing to do is take a little oil and coat the rice in your pot and let it get warm, then add your water. Always use two parts water to one part rice. Typically I would say never touch the rice while its cooking but in this case stirring a couple times during the process will help it become more sticky which will help when you are forming the balls. Cook for 15 minutes and mostly all the water is soaked up.  Transfere the rice to a bowl and let cool slightly.

The rice in the oil 

   Combine egg, parmesan cheese, and seasoning s together. Pour the mixture into rice while stirring to not scramble the eggs. Allow to cool until the bowl and mixture is cool to the touch.

   Once cool put flour on one plate, egg in a bowl, and panko on another. Dip in that order and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until brown. DO NOT overcook or they will come out too dry.

The mixture as it cools

Italian Rice Balls

For 12 small or 6 big balls

½ cup uncooked rice                             1/3 cup parmesan

1 cup water                                            1 ½ tbsp Italian seasoning

1 tbsp olive oil                                       ¼ tsp black pepper

1 egg                                                         1 tsp salt

For breading

Panko (season with oregano and Italian seasoning optional)

Flour

1 egg

 

I broiled mine to hurry the process along.
I do NOT suggest this they got a tad to dry. 

For the Gnocchi I used the mini ones since that was all I could find at the time. I made the Mornay sauce from this post. I did take some better pictures to help out with explaining it better. 

I used about a cup and a half of milk and about half a cup of water and the thickness was perfect. Just adjust as you go until it is at your liking.

This is the color that the rue should be before
adding the liquid.

The thickness changes as you stir it and you can
tell if your questioning it then it probably has not
finished. Once thickend add the cheese. 

Delicious

Yall have a great weekend and be sure to come back next week for zeppole recipe!


Tips for rice cooking and a fun to watch video on making rice balls here
all recipes inspiration here