I was walking in between buildings in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. There were restaurants and shops everywhere. All of a sudden I saw a sign for an Italian restaurant called Made in Sicily.
It was a cute little place with a few tables to sit at.
Now I was not hungry for pizza, which they sold by the slice.
What caught my attention on the menu they had posted outside were the Arancino (arancini or rice balls). I had not seen these anywhere else at this point in my trip.
I figured I could not pass up the opportunity to try these. I always make sure to try arancini whenever I see them on the menu – no matter what country or city I am in.
They offered three different varieties but I only tried two. I had been munching all day long so I was not that hungry. So I went for the Four-Cheese and the Bolognese.
I tried the Four-Cheese first. This was loaded with cheese and not enough rice. When I cut it open the hot cheese oozed out. If there was a little more rice it might have held things in place better. The cheese was nice and salty. I would have liked a little pasta sauce on this to balance out the cheese.
The Bolognese arancini was a blend of meat and cheese in the center with a little sauce. This had a great savory flavor and there was enough rice that helped calm down the slight salty accents.
The downside to these arancini happened to be that they were not freshly fried. Much like some of the tapas I have gotten at the market, these were all premade. They simply warmed them up in a microwave. So they were not very crispy, but the flavor was still good.
This was a fun stop. I could not wait to tell everyone that I got Sicilian arancini in Barcelona, Spain.
You can check out their Facebook page at madeinsicily.bcn
Enjoy!
T
