Rice, and cheese and tomato. Coated with bread crumbs and then deep fried. Next to Pasta and Pizza, here’s another Roman cuisine you shouldn’t miss.

It’s not a familiar name, and when you live outside Italy, it’s a slim chance you have even heard of it.

On one of my trips to Italy a couple years ago, I stumbled against these small snacks which immediately won my heart over. Now, whenever I catch a flight to Rome, it’s the first thing I look for. Morning, afternoon, evening, everytime I come across the sight of Supplìs, I would stop by and consider whether I’m going to buy them again. (Normally ending up in a positive answer, even if I had eaten 3 on the same day already)

So, what are those?

Supplì is a ball of rice with tomato sauce and cheese, and then coated with breadcrumbs, served deep fried. It’s a typical roman cuisine, though you might find it in other regions of Italy as well. In southern Italy, it’s more commonly known as Arancini, although Arancini and Supplì are actually different. While Supplì is filled only with cheese, Arancini has peas and meat along as fillings. This is, however, not always the case. But main point is, etymological aspects aside, Arancini and Supplì are deep fried rice balls with tomato sauce, cheese, and sometimes more fillings. For the accurate explanation and their difference, you might have to consult an italian. Me? I’m just someone who really, really love italian foods.

In the eternal city, it’s quite easy to find Supplì. They are normally in most Pizzerias, and in restaurants they’re usually served under the appetizer list. In most of them, they’re going to be filled with cheese and tomato sauce, sometimes Ragu sauce.

P.S: They look quite similar to Crochette, a ball of potato coated with breadcrumbs and deep fried. So make sure you don’t point to the wrong snack! This happened to me once, although I dont regret it at all. haha! Crochette is delicious too! Crocchettes are also usually quite easy to find, mostly in Pizzerias. Some restaurants also have them as appetizers.

There is, also, a small snack-bar (“Rosticceria”) dedicated only to Supplì. It has Supplì with different kind of fillings. I went there once, and their Supplì/Arancini is fantastic. (some of my italian friends told me that Supplì is smaller, while Arancini is the size of my fist. This particular place has Supplìs bigger than my fist.) The name of this snack bar is, implying to the one cuisine they specialize in, “i Supplì“. It’s located near the light rail station “Trastevere”.

I also once went to another Supplì restaurant, near the metro station Lepanto. It’s called “Mondo Arancina“, 3 minutes away from the metro station. There are even Supplìs with eggplants! Mondo Arancina actually have 2 other branches in Rome, although I have only visited the one near Lepanto metro station.

These small rice balls cost normally 1-1,5 Euros, when they’re the regular ones. However, the bigger ones (Arancini) may cost 2,5-3 Euros. They’re best when eaten warm, with all the outer part crunchy and then biting to that melted cheese inside. Whenever youre asked riscaldati? (heated?), you should say yes! These snacks served warm are simply delicious! They’re also quite filling, and is therefore, in my opinion, quite cheap. You could be full with two regular Supplìs or with one Arancini.

Next time you go and explore the ruins of Rome, don’t forget to try and find Supplì! It’s rice and cheese and tomato sauce, and deep fried! Who would want to miss out on that?

(more notes: I am definitely not an expert on this, so please correct me if I explained something wrong! 🙂 tell me if you have tried Suppli/Arancini and what you think about it!)