Rome: The Supplì tomato and mozzarella

Ingredients (doses for 10 supplì)

Carnaroli rice 320 g
Coppered onion 1/2
Tomato puree 250 g
Pre-salted vegetable broth
Mozzarella 150 g
Grated Grana Padano PDO 30 g
Extra virgin olive oil to taste
Fine salt and pepper to taste

For breadcrumbs and frying
Eggs 3
Breadcrumbs 300 g
Corn oil to taste

Rome: the Supplì tomato and mozzarella. Peel the onion and chop it coarsely. Pour a drizzle of oil into a saucepan and brown the onion for 3 minutes. Then add the rice and toast for 5 minutes over medium heat. Cover with the boiling broth and the tomato puree. Continue cooking the rice until it is dry. With the heat off, add the grated Grana, pepper and salt. Then transfer the rice onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spread it well with a ladle. Leave to rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Cut the mozzarella into 1 cm cubes. With wet hands, so the rice won’t stick, take some rice with a spoon and place it on your hand. Squeezing lightly to spread the rice, place some mozzarella cubes in the center and shape everything into a slightly elongated sphere. For the breading: beat the eggs in a bowl, dip a supplì in the egg and then roll it in the breadcrumbs. Fry in abundant corn oil at about 165-170° two pieces at a time, so as not to lower the oil temperature. When they are well browned, drain and transfer onto a tray lined with fried paper. Serve the mozzarella and tomato supplì hot and stringy. The supplì was born in Rome in the early nineteenth century and it seems that the name derives from the French “surprise”, precisely the date of the surprise of a French soldier who, opening the rice ball, found the stringy mozzarella. Today there are many versions of the supplì and the fruit of the imagination of Roman cooks: with cacio e pepe, all’amatriciana, with chicory or broccoli and sausage. A dry white wine is the perfect match with tomato and mozzarella supplì, such as a Chardonnay or a Sauvignon for example.