Supplì: the king of street food! Where to eat the best ones in Rome.
Supplì: the king of street food! Do not confuse it with the Sicilian arancino (or arancina). Here’s where the recipe of the Supplì comes from and where to eat the best ones.
The history of the Supplì is long and, apparently, begins in Sicily, passes through Naples and ends in Rome. But, please! Do not confuse the Supplì with the Sicilian arancino (or arancina).
First steps of the Supplì:
It seems that the Arabs brought rice in Sicily during the domination between the 9th and 11th centuries. They simply started to use the leftover rice, mixing it with saffron and lamb meat and creating a small ball. A few centuries later, this habit made its entry into the Bourbon court, in the Kingdom of Naples. Here the Neapolitans called these recipe just palle di riso, that means rice balls. They fried them in small kiosks on street corners. Basically one of the first street foods in history!
Supplì is the king of street food
The Supplì arrives in Rome:
From Naples to Rome it didn’t take long. Four years after the occupation of the Kingdom of Naples, Napoleonic troops arrived in Rome in 1809. They brought with them the tasty Neapolitan rice balls, which immediately spread throughout the Eternal City. The term Supplì, in fact, has French roots. It seems that it derives from the french word surprise. That is, indeed, the stringy mozzarella inside. It seems that a French soldier was tasting a ball of rice and in that moment he exclaimed surprise! Then, the evolution of the word goes from surprise, to soplis, and finally to Supplì. The first time the term soplis appeared in written form, was on a restaurant menu in Rome in 1847. The place was the Trattoria della Lepre, in Via dei Condotti (Condotti street).
The Supplì becomes famous:
The first recipe most similar to the Supplì as we know today is the one published in 1929 in the book La cucina romana by Ada Boni. Here, for the first time, tomato sauce is mentioned, albeit used in marginal quantities. Another difference with the previous recipe is that this time the Supplì is breaded and fried and no longer without a crust, as originally. Furthermore, the stringy heart is not yet made of mozzarella, but of another type of cheese, and chicken offal were used instead of ragù sauce. By the way, today, to prepare the modern Supplì, we use risotto. This way of cooking only became popular after the Second World War.
Romans always eat Supplì with their hands and never with fork and knife
Supplì close up:
In Rome the Supplì must be al telefono. It means litterally thelephone wires, because the mozzarella thread holds the two halves together and looks like a telephone wire. Obviously, each chef puts his magic touch into the preparation of the Supplì to make it special. But the recipe for the classic Supplì is quite simple. First of all, prepare the sauce with the minced meat and the tomato sauce. Then add the rice and cook it like a risotto, adding the broth little by little. When the risotto is cold, create the balls with your hands and place the mozzarella piece in the center. After, dip the rice ball in the breadcrumbs, in the egg and again in the breadcrumbs. Finally fry it in boiling oil.
The famous pistachio arancino in many fried-food shops in Rome
Supplì vs Arancino:
Even though they are very similar, these two cornerstones of the Italian street food present big differences. Let’s see them together! First of all the shape. The arancino has the shape of a mountain and is larger in size than the Supplì, which is smaller and oval in shape. Second, the filling. The arancino contains ragù, but less quantity of sauce. Then saffron, peas and sometimes even bechamel. The Supplì instead only includes ragù and stringy mozzarella in the centre. The third difference concerns the date of creation. It seems that the Supplì is slightly older than the arancino. The latter was in fact mentioned for the first time in 1868, within the New Sicilian-Italian Vocabulary by Antonino Trina, while the Supplì in 1847, as said.
Where to eat the best supplì in Rome:
Supplizio (Via dei Banchi Vecchi, 143): the classic one is unmissable, but also the arrabbiata one and the butter and anchovies variant. The breading is thick and crunchy.
I Supplì (Via San Francesco a Ripa, 137): typical Supplì al telefono.
Trapizzino (Piazzale di Ponte Milvio, 13): the offer changes constantly. Among the creative variations there is asparagus and lemon, eggplants parmigiana and aglio, olio e peperoncino (garlic, olive oil and red chilli).
Pizzarium (Via della Meloria, 43): very popular shop of the super famous Gabriele Bonci. The Supplì filled with pasta instead of rice is a must.
La casa del Supplì (Piazza Re di Roma, 20): obviously here you can try the traditional Supplì. The cacio e pepe variant is excellent.
Fiore (Via del Biscione, 14): here you can taste exceptional Neapolitan-style Supplì.
There are so many flavors today! Supplì with carbonara, amatriciana, or the beloved cacio and pepe (cheese and pepper)!
Supplì in Rome can also be vegetarian if the sauce is whitout meat
Supplì and wine: the perfect combination
How to pair wine with this recipe? First of all we need to know what type of Supplì we are talking about. If it’s the traditional ones, with tomato and mozzarella, a sparkling wine made from red grapes could be ideal. A Lambrusco or even a champagne. In fact, the effervescence and freshness would compensate for the greasiness of the fried rice ball. If we have a white Supplì, so with no tomato sauce, it would be better to choose a white wine that brings out the ingredients of the rice ball. Do not forget that rich seasonings always require wines with greater body. In conclusion, for the perfect match, this article can help you.
Whatever its flavor, Supplì remains and will remain forever in the hearts of us Romans. Come and taste it with us!
