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Ingredients

• 300g risotto rice
• 200g minced beef
• 100g minced pork
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 celery stick, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 100ml dry white wine
• 400g tomato passata
• 700ml chicken or beef stock, hot
• 1 bay leaf
• 40g grated Pecorino Romano
• 2 eggs for the rice
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 200g mozzarella, cut into 1.5cm batons
• 2 eggs for coating
• 200g fine dried breadcrumbs
• 1 litre sunflower oil for deep frying

Before you cook

• Finely chop the onion and celery.
• Cut the mozzarella into 1.5cm batons and leave them on kitchen paper to shed moisture.
• Heat the stock in a small pan and keep it just below a simmer.
• Spread the breadcrumbs on one plate and beat 2 eggs on another.

Steps

1. Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat and soften the onion and celery for 6 minutes.
2. Add both minced meats and fry for 8 minutes, breaking them up, until browned all over.
3. Pour in the white wine and let it bubble away for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the passata and the bay leaf, then simmer gently for 20 minutes until the sauce is thick and dark.
5. Tip in the rice and stir for 2 minutes so every grain is coated.
6. Add the hot stock a ladle at a time, stirring, and cook for about 16 minutes until the rice is just tender and the pan is nearly dry.
7. Season with salt and pepper, pull out the bay leaf, and beat in the pecorino.
8. Spread the rice on a tray and leave it to cool completely, about 40 minutes.
9. Beat 2 eggs into the cold rice until the mixture holds together in your hand.
10. Take a heaped tablespoon of rice, flatten it on your palm, press a mozzarella baton into the middle, and close the rice around it into an oval croquette.
11. Shape the rest the same way, aiming for about 15 suppli.
12. Roll each one first in beaten egg and then in breadcrumbs, pressing so the crumbs stick everywhere.
13. Heat the frying oil to 175C.
14. Fry four or five suppli at a time for 4 minutes until deep golden and crackling.
15. Drain them briefly on a rack and serve within a few minutes, while the cheese still strings.