Baked supplì, crisp outside and stringy inside

Category

Starters

Cuisine

Italian

Are you after supplì as good as the ones from a Roman fry shop, without filling your kitchen with hot oil?

Then this baked version is for you. I will walk you through supplì with a golden crunchy coating and a mozzarella heart that genuinely stretches, cooked on a tray instead of in a pan.

The secret is not in the baking but in what comes before: tomato rice cooked on the dry side, finished with egg and parmesan and then cooled completely. Cold is what firms up the starch and lets you shape ovals that hold together instead of splitting.

There are at least three good reasons to make them this way: they can be prepared ahead, they freeze raw and coated, and they are far lighter than the fried version while still coming out crisp.

The detail that changes everything is oil on the coating. An oven alone will not brown breadcrumbs: you need a light film of oil applied by hand or with a spray, otherwise the crust stays pale and floury. And drain the mozzarella properly, because its water is exactly what makes supplì burst open.

Serve them just warm, when the filling still stretches but no longer scalds, with a small bowl of tomato sauce alongside. Cold they lose the telephone effect, but five minutes back in the oven brings it straight back.

Ready? Let’s get started with baked supplì.