Cacio e pepe supplì

The other thing that you find everywhere you go in Rome is cacio e pepe, another very humble dish. It’s made with pepper and cheese. Now, normally it’s done with pasta, but I wanted to do a risotto, done into a suppli, in the flavor of cacio e pepe. 

Ingredients

Risotto

• 5¾ cups chicken stock
• 1½ tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
• 2 cups finely chopped onions
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1½ cups Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
• ⅔ cup dry white wine
• ⅔ cup grated Pecorino cheese
• 55 g (¼ cup) unsalted butter

• Kosher salt
• Generous amount of freshly ground black pepper

Suppli

• 2 cups Cacio e Pepe Risotto, cooled
• 1½ cups panko breadcrumbs
• ½ cup grated Pecorino cheese, plus more for garnish
• 2 large eggs, beaten to blend
• Freshly ground black pepper
• About 250 g (9 oz) whole-milk mozzarella cheese, cut into 1.5-2 cm (¾-inch) cubes
• Vegetable oil (for deep-frying)

Chilling time: at least 3 hours.

If serving as a risotto, serves 6.

Instructions

1. For risotto, bring stock to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan. Cover stock and keep warm over very low heat.
2. Heat oil in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in garlic and sauté 1 minute. Stir in rice. Add wine; cook until liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 2 minutes.
3. Add 1 cup of hot stock; simmer over medium-low heat until the liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Continue to cook until rice is just tender and mixture is creamy, adding more stock by cupfuls and stirring often, about 28 minutes.
4. Mix in the Pecorino cheese and butter. Season to taste with salt and a generous amount of black pepper.
5. Serve immediately, or if making Cacio e Pepe Supplì, spoon risotto over small baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate until cold (or for up to one day).
6. To make suppli, in a large bowl, mix risotto, ½ cup of breadcrumbs, ½ cup of Pecorino cheese, and eggs with black pepper to taste.
7. In small baking sheet, place remaining breadcrumbs. Using about ¼ cup of risotto mixture for each cube of mozzarella cheese, form risotto mixture around cheese cubes to enclose completely and form into 5 cm (2 inch) diameter balls. Roll balls in breadcrumbs to coat. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until set. (Coated unfried rice balls can be made 2 weeks ahead, stored airtight in a single layer and frozen.)
8. In large heavy pot, add enough oil to reach depth of 3 inches and heat over medium heat to 180°C (350°F).
9. Working in batches, add rice balls to hot oil and cook until brown and heated through, about 4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer rice balls to trivet set over a baking sheet to drain. Let rest 2 minutes. Sprinkle with grated Pecorino and serve hot.

The other thing that you find everywhere you go in Rome is cacio e pepe, another very humble dish. It’s made with pepper and cheese. Now, normally it’s done with pasta, but I wanted to do a risotto, done into a suppli, in the flavor of cacio e pepe.