Fried, crunchy and with a stringy heart. The supplì it is an icon of the classic Roman street food, perfect for a delicious snack during a tour of the city, for a quick lunch or to start dinner in a pizzeria. Because Rome there is no pizza without supplì. And yet, the king of fried dishes of the Roman culinary tradition is as famous within the confines of Rome as it is unknown outside. Compared to dishes such as tonnarelli cacio e pepe, carbonara or tripe, the supplì has remained a "rough diamond" of the Roman culinary tradition compared to its greatest competitor: the Sicilian arancino (or arancina). Here is the story and the recipe of the supplì on the phone.
The history of the supplì: from Sicily to Rome via Naples
La Story del supplì crosses borders, cultures and dominations. To investigate the origins of the supplì we must go back to the Arab domination in Kingdom of Sicily, (between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries) when the Arabs introduced rice to our country for the first time. A few centuries later, the culinary traditions of the Kingdom of Sicily – where tasty rice croquettes (the ancestors of arancini) were prepared for some time – were introduced by the Bourbons in Kingdom of Naples, where these fried meatballs were called “pall 'e ris”, the rice ball.
How did the supplì arrive from Naples? Rome? In the early 800s, with the arrival of Napoleon's troops in the capital: it was just a french soldier who, tasting this croquette, called it "surprise", that is "surprise", as opening it revealed a tasty filling inside. The term supplì probably derives from the Italianization of the French surprise.
Supplì on the phone: a recipe that has evolved over time
This specialty, as often happens with traditional recipes, was born as poor dish. In fact, the filling was made up of kitchen leftovers, such as chicken, ragù, and only later did it become a specific dish with the addition of many other ingredients that the Roman tradition puts on the table. But let's see its evolution over time.
The first written testimony dates back to 1874 when it appears in the menu of Trattoria della Lepre in Rome with the name “la soplis” (feminine). Among the first cookbooks in which the "supplis" appears, we find "The family kitchen of Adolfo Giaquinto (uncle of Ada Boni) dating back to 1901 and re-edited in 1917, in which there are two versions of the supplì:
- With provatura filling: a stretched curd cheese from Lazio, similar to mozzarella and provola.
- Stuffed with meat: ham, lean veal or chicken, sweetbreads, liver and other giblets (today, however, people prefer to prepare ragù with minced meat to give it a more delicate flavour)
In these recipes there was no gravy yet, just for the filling.
We have to wait for the publication of "La cucina romana" by Ada Boni, in 1929, to find a recipe for supplì similar to today's: a croquette obtained by cooking rice in a little stew sauce and seasoned with butter, parmesan and eggs. Boni's rice croquette (and not risotto) does not yet contain the stringy mozzarella filling, but a set of giblets.
But to get to the fried Roman as we know it today we have to wait for the second post-war period. When the supplì recipe will be developed over the years by various chefs and restaurateurs, including Giggi Fazi, which in the 50s offered it in its Hostaria Romana: a risotto-based croquette cooked in tomato sauce with meat.
Differences between supplì and arancini
Although many confuse them, the differences that divide them are numerous. The fried Roman has the shape of an elongated meatball, is made exclusively with rice with meat sauce and has a heart of stringy mozzarella to which it owes its full name "he pleaded on the phone”: in fact, at the first bite, the thread of mozzarella lengthens, recalling the telephone wires of the past when there was no wireless yet.
The arancino, on the other hand, is larger, and can have various fillings. Another substantial difference is the breading: the supplì are dipped in egg to hold the breadcrumbs before being fried, while batter is used for the arancini.
Variations: all the Roman spirit in a fried dish
In recent years, various Roman pizzerias and chip shops have begun to offer the most various combinations of flavors inside the supplì, starting from the must of the Roman culinary tradition: the supplì cacio e pepe (pecorino romano and pepper); at the carbonara (eggs, bacon and pecorino romano and pepper), alla gricia (pecorino romano, bacon and pepper) alla amatriciana (pecorino romano, bacon, pepper and tomato) up to the supplì with the Roman tripe. But you can put everything in fried rice: provola and porcini, nduja, pumpkin and so on. These new interpretations of the traditional supplì are establishing themselves as new typical dishes of the Roman cuisine.
Traditional recipe of supplì on the phone
Ingredients for 3 people
- 100 grams of rice (preferably superfine for risotto)
- 75 grams of tomato sauce
- 40 grams of minced meat
- 1/4 glass of wine
- salt
- black pepper
- 1/2 mozzarella
- Bread crumbs
- Fry oil
- Vegetable stock/hot water
- 1 egg
Method
Start from ragout based on minced meat, red wine and tomato puree. Cook the rice directly in the ragù and dilute it with vegetable broth or hot water. At this point, remove all the cooking liquid (or drain it if too much) before transferring the rice into a bowl and letting it cool thoroughly after seasoning with salt and black pepper.
Beat the eggs and cut the mozzarella into cubes and let it drain. Take a handful of rice with greasy hands and place two cubes of mozzarella (very dry) in the center, closing them in such a way as to give a oval shape to the supplì.
Then dip the supplì first in the egg and then in the breadcrumbs, being careful not to break them.
Heat the oil very well and cook the supplì until they are golden enough on the outside. Drain and serve hot to have the "telephone" effect. For a crispy and golden fry it is advisable to use a fairly large and high frying pan and the temperature of the frying oil must not exceed 170°. Finally, never salt the supplì on the surface before frying them because the salt releases water which could affect the success
