The Roman Supplì, as well as telephone supplì or simple mozzarella and tomato ones, are pure poetry.
They are exceptionally crispy, stringy, and very hot to break in half to see how the mozzarella stretches, forming the typical string, hence the more commonly used name of Telephone Supplì.
These large and tasty croquettes are a typical rich and exquisite finger food prepared with a simple meat sauce, not to be confused with the classic ragù, and if you want my advice, prepare them with pizza mozzarella, not buffalo mozzarella, which would release too much water.
And if you have leftover rice or meat ragù, you’ll do even quicker; below, I’ll explain how to avoid wasting anything.
Great to serve as an appetizer or buffet dinner along with rice arancini or potato ones, they’ll be perfect.
Below I leave you other fried and tasty ideas to enrich your aperitif, and right after the photo, we’ll discover how to prepare Roman Supplì!!
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 15
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for Roman Supplì
- 1 1/4 cups Carnaroli rice
- Half onion
- Half carrot (optional)
- Half stalk celery
- 9 oz ground beef
- 1 cup tomato purée
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- as needed beef broth
- 1 1/2 oz Pecorino Romano cheese
- 1 oz butter
- 2 pinches salt
- as needed black pepper
- 7 oz mozzarella for pizza
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
- 1/4 cup milk
- as needed breadcrumbs
- 4 cups peanut oil (for frying)
Preparation of Roman Supplì
To prepare the Roman Supplì, first prepare the beef broth and keep it warm (you’ll need it to cook the rice).
Finely chop the onion, carrot, and celery (if you prefer, you can use just onion) and sauté in extra virgin olive oil.
It should become transparent, not burnt, so add the tomato purée, salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes.
Incorporate the ground meat, stir to flavor it, and cook the meat sauce for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally (the sauce should not be thick).
Add the rice, stir to flavor it, and cook the rice with the meat sauce, incorporating warm broth whenever needed (as with a regular risotto).
When the rice is cooked, stir in the butter and grated cheese, mixing very well.
Pour the rice with meat sauce onto a tray, flatten it, and let it cool for at least 1 hour.
In the meantime, prepare the batter, break the eggs into a bowl, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour and 1/4 cup of milk, and mix.
Cut the mozzarella into sticks and set aside.
Once the rice with meat sauce has cooled, take a good handful and compact it with your hands forming an elongated meatball.
Use a finger to make a slight indentation to form a hollow where you will insert a mozzarella stick for each rice Supplì.
Close each Supplì by pressing with your hand while trying to maintain the elongated shape.
When you have formed all the telephone supplì, pass them one by one in the batter and then in the breadcrumbs, making it adhere well.
We made a double breading, so batter, breadcrumbs, and again batter and breadcrumbs.
Once all the telephone Supplì are breaded, heat the oil well for frying, then take 2 Supplì at a time with a skimmer and fry them, turning them a couple of times.
The Roman Supplì are ready when they are golden on all sides, so drain them on absorbent paper to remove excess oil.
Serve them while still hot and stringy.
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Variations of Roman Supplì
If you want, you can also add dried mushrooms to the meat sauce by soaking them in lukewarm water for 30 minutes, then chopping and adding them along with the minced meat.
Other recipes
If you want to see other types of recipes you can return to HOME.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Can I use pre-cooked ragù?
Yes, you can safely use pre-cooked ragù, extending it if it’s too dry with more tomato purée.
Can I use already cooked risotto?
Yes, if you have a simple already cooked risotto, just cook the meat sauce until dry and add the leftover risotto, mixing very well.
