Supplì

Step 1: Warm 2 tbsp olive oil in a wide pan over a medium heat and soften ½ onion for 5 minutes without letting it colour.

Step 2: Add 10 ½ oz risotto rice and stir for 1 minute until the grains turn glassy at the edges.

Step 3: Add 1 ¾ cups tomato passata, ½ tsp salt and a ladle of 2 ½ cups vegetable stock. Simmer over a medium-low heat, stirring often and adding stock a ladle at a time, for about 16 minutes, until the rice is just tender and the mixture is thick enough that a spoon dragged through leaves a clear path.

Step 4: Stir in 1 ⅜ oz Parmigiano Reggiano and 6 leaves fresh basil off the heat. Spread the rice on a tray about 2 cm thick, cover and chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Step 5: Wet your hands. Take a heaped tablespoon of rice (about 60 g), flatten it in your palm, put a cube of 4 ½ oz mozzarella in the middle and close the rice around it, rolling it into a 7 cm oval. Make all 12.

Step 6: Roll each supplì in 2 eggs, then in 5 ½ oz dry breadcrumbs, pressing so the crumb sticks. For a sturdier crust, dip in egg and crumbs a second time. Chill for 15 minutes.

Step 7: Heat 4 ¼ cups sunflower oil in a deep pan to 350°F, or until a cube of bread browns in 40 seconds. Common mistake: frying in oil that is too cool; the crust soaks up oil and the cheese leaks out before it browns.

Step 8: Fry 3 or 4 at a time for 4–5 minutes, turning gently, until deep golden and they sound crisp when tapped with a spoon. Drain on kitchen paper.

Step 9: Rest for 2 minutes, then eat hot, pulling them apart to stretch the cheese.