Rice Calas with Blackberry Filling

By norsegal8

"Calas tout chaud" --hot, crispy rice balls -- were once classic street food in New Orleans, hawked daily in the marketplace. Somehow, these little delicacies fell off our culinary map, and only in the past decade have they been restored to our menus. My variation is very simple. You do need a bit of planning to make the filling in advance, but feel free to use your favorite prepared jam instead, or even omit filling the calas all together.

Ingredients

• FOR THE FILLING:
• 4 cups fresh blackberries
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 7 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoon powdered pectin
• FOR THE CALAS:
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 dash grated nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 cups cooked long-grain white rice
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 - 6 cups vegetables oil for frying

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

1. For the filling, stew the blackberries with the lemon juice in a heavy-bottomed pot over low heat for 20 minutes until they become very soft. Puree the berries in a blender, then pass them through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the seeds. Return the strained berries to the pot over moderate heat and add the sugar and pectin. Slowly begin the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly. After it boils, remove the filling from the heat and allow to cool completely.

2. For the calas, put the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking powder into the work bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the rice, eggs and 1 cup of the sugar and process until smooth. Add the milk and process until fully incorporated into the dough. Using a rubber spatula, transfer the dough to a bowl or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.

3. Heat the vegetable oil to 350 degrees in a heavy large skillet. A candy thermometer is handy here.

4. Form the dough into 1-inch round balls and very carefully drop them into the hot oil, a few at a time. Fry until brown and cooked through. Use tongs to remove the calas from the oil, and drain them on paper towels.

5. To fill the warm calas, fit a plain, 1/4-inch metal tip into a pastry bag. Fill the pastry bag with the blackberry filling, and inject it into the calas. Roll the filled calas in the remaining sugar while still warm.