Roman Suppli – It is a crunchy and scrumptious mouthful of rice that when opened you are met with stringy mozzarella.
The Suppli are also called “suppli al telefono” because the strings of mozzarella reminded people of the spiral telephone cords everyone once had.
Also please don’t tell me that they are arancini, because the arancini are Sicilian and are made in different ways.
But rice is also a great component in Roman-style supplì. The rice is freshly cooked together with its seasoning and then left to cool before forming this delicious ball.
The supplì in Rome was born as a “poor” dish sold in taverns, made with leftovers, originally with chicken giblet ragu and sweetbreads and only later, in the twentieth century, did the mozzarella center also become a part of the recipe.
The suppli is a classic of the Roman rotisserie, due to their shape, it resembles a potato croquette a lot.
How the Roman suppli are made
Our recipe follows the original one but I took out the liver because not everyone likes it. The broth for cooking the rice is made by putting a pot of water, celery, onion, parsley, basil, and 2 parmesan rinds on the stove. Then I started cooking it and brought it beyond the boil. Do not salt it, we adjust the rice only at the end. I used carnaroli rice seasoned with a sauce enriched with pecorino cheese. The rice is then left to rest before proceeding with the shaping of the suppli which, before being fried, is breaded with beaten eggs and breadcrumbs.
The Best Roman Suppli Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10.58 oz carnaroli rice
- 5.3 oz mozzarella cheese
- 4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp of butter
- ¼ of medium onion
- 14 oz of tomato puree
- 1 cup of milk
- vegetable broth
- a few basil leaves
- 2 eggs
- 10 tbsp grated Parmigiano cheese
- 10 tbsp grated Roman pecorino cheese
- salt
Instructions
- Chop the onion very finely
- Fry the onion in oil and 2 tbsp of butter.
- When it becomes transparent, pour in the rice
- Add a pinch of salt and toast it for a couple of minutes, then add in a little vegetable broth and mix it in.
- Add the tomato puree and hot milk.
- Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly and adding more broth as often as needed. When the rice is almost cooked, add the chopped basil.
- Season with salt and stir in the rest of the butter, pecorino, and Parmigiano.
- Mix the ingredients well.
- Spread the risotto on a cold surface.
- Cut the mozzarella into cubes. With wet hands, take a spoonful of rice and form a meatball shape, in the center of which you will form a small cavity.
- Place a cube of mozzarella inside and close by compacting the ball well so as to give it a slightly elongated shape.
- Beat the eggs in a bowl with a pinch of salt and roll the supplì in it making sure to get all of the sides covered.
- Pass them in the breadcrumbs, and make sure it adheres well over the entire surface
- Fry them at 170-175°C (340°F) for about 3 minutes.
- The supplì must become a light walnut color.
- Blot with absorbent paper. The supplì need to rest for a moment: they must be served hot, but not too hot.
Notes
Reader Interactions
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Hi,
Did you use panko breadcrumbs for these? They look delicious!
Hello Chiara,
thank you! yes, I used panko breadcrumbs for them because it creates a more crunchy surface and holds less oil when frying.
Anna Maria
Thank you!