Supplì – Rice balls

In my personal food ranking the supplì – Rice balls occupy a privileged position. I’ve eaten them for a lifetime (practically for as long as I can remember) and it’s almost a life I make them.

Eating a supplì made by me is one of the things that gives me the biggest satisfaction, but it is even better to see the expressions of others when they eat them, because they are always a success!

It is the first time that I try to put on paper the recipe of my favorite supplì: the “red” ones, with chicken giblets, which I did not even like as a child and in fact my grandmother prepared them for adults, while for us little ones we ‘was the “white” version, without meat but with a lot of mozzarella.

Obviously the supplì ‘on the phone’ are born as a plate of leftovers so they can be made with any type of risotto, advanced or prepared ad hoc. The important thing is that it is a risotto and not a boiled and then seasoned rice.

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Ingredients

• 150 g minced beef
• 150 g minced pork
• 1 onion
• 1 large carrot
• 1 celery stick
• 400 g peeled tomatoes
• 1 glass of red wine
• 1 bay leaf
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• nutmeg
• 500 g rice meat or vegetable broth
• 40 g butter
• 100 g of grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 250 g mozzarella
• 50 g of emmental
• breadcrumbs not too thin
• olive or seeds oil for frying

How to make it

Since the preparation is long and involves various steps and dead times, I usually prepare them over days.

Meat sauce

First, prepare the meat sauce: chop the onion, carrot and celery and fry in a little olive oil. As soon as the vegetables are well browned (be careful not to burn them) add the minced beef and pork and the bay leaf and fry over high heat. When the meat is browned, add salt, pepper and deglaze with the red wine.

After the wine has evaporated, add the peeled tomatoes, already broken, and half a glass of water or broth, bring to a boil then lower the heat to low, cover and cook for about 1 hour, then turn off and let it rest (more rest the better is, you can also do it the day before).

Risotto

Prepare the risotto: toast the rice in a fat-free pan then add the meat sauce, stir quickly and start adding the broth a little at a time until the rice is cooked al dente. At this point, turn off the heat and add the butter and Parmesan cheese and whisk, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg then add the whole egg, mix quickly and spread on a tray or on a marble table and let it cool for at least 2 hours or more, until the rice is completely cold and glued.

Supplì – Rice balls

Now it’s time to make the supplì: cut the mozzarella and the emmental into cubes, take a container to put the breadcrumbs and a tray to place the suppli. Take a certain amount of rice with your hand or with a spoon, mash it on the palm of your hand, put a little mozzarella and emmental in the center and close forming an elongated ball (similar to a capsule), then pass it in the breadcrumbs.

When all the suppli are ready, put them in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Fry them in hot olive or seeds oil until they have a nice golden crust outside (it will take about 10 minutes for each). Inside, the cheeses must be beautifully loose and racy.

Be careful not to put too many suppli at the same time as if you lower the oil temperature too much they could break.

Supplì – Rice balls can be placed in the freezer before frying and then fried when needed.