makes
12-14
prep
30 minutes
cook
1 hour
difficulty
Mid
makes
12-14
serves
preparation
30
minutes
cooking
1
hour
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 110 g (4 oz) aged or regular mozzarella or scamorza
- 1 egg (only if necessary)
- grapeseed, peanut or sunflower oil, for frying
Risotto
- 500–750 ml (17–25½ fl oz/2–3 cups) beef stock (page 260) or your favourite stock, plus extra if necessary
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp unsalted butter
- 1 small brown or white onion, finely chopped
- 200 g (7 oz) carnaroli or arborio rice
- 125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) dry white wine
- 150 g (5½ oz) your favourite meat sugo (pasta sauce), warmed
- 40 g (1½ oz) unsalted butter
- 25 g (1 oz) grated parmesan cheese
Crumb
- plain (all-purpose) flour
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten with a splash of milk
- homemade fresh breadcrumbs
You will need to start this a day ahead, to allow the rice to cool in the fridge overnight.
Instructions
To make the risotto, bring the stock to the boil in a medium-sized saucepan.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a heavy-based saucepan over low heat. Add the onion and cook very slowly, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. The onion should become translucent and soft without taking on any colour. Add the rice and increase the heat to medium–high. Toast the rice for 1–2 minutes, then add the wine. Cook, stirring, until the wine evaporates, then reduce the heat to medium and add a ladleful of stock. Continue to stir until the liquid is absorbed, then add another ladleful. Continue this process for 10 minutes.
Add the warm pasta sauce and stir well. Cook for a further 2 minutes, then season with salt, to taste. Taste the rice – it should be cooked through but still a little rm. Add a little more liquid and continue cooking, if necessary.
When you are happy with the consistency and bite of the rice, remove from the heat and stir through the butter and parmesan. Transfer to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside in the fridge overnight.
Place the flour, egg mixture and breadcrumbs in separate shallow bowls. Cut the mozzarella into small 1 cm x 4 cm (½ in x 1½ in) batons.
With wet hands, grab a small handful of rice. Make a small well in the centre and place a baton of mozzarella in the middle. Fold the rice around it to form a smooth log shape about 4 cm x 6 cm (1½ in x 2½ in) in diameter and weighing about 55–60 g (2 oz). If the rice is not holding together, add a small egg to the rice mixture, mix well and try again.
Gently toss the supplì in the flour, then dip them in the egg mixture and, finally, toss in the breadcrumbs. Double-crumb by dipping in the egg and rolling in the breadcrumbs a second time. This will give the supplì a crunchy outer layer and they will be less likely to fall apart when cooking.
Heat 5 cm (2 in) of oil in a heavy-based saucepan (or use a deep-fryer) to 180°C (350°F). Test the temperature of the oil by dropping in a cube of bread. If it starts to turn golden in 5 seconds, the oil is ready. Cook the supplì in batches for 5–6 minutes, turning them regularly to ensure that they cook evenly. Drain on kitchen towel and repeat with the remaining supplì. Set aside to cool for a couple of minutes and serve warm.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
