Vegan Suppli

This quick vegan suppli recipe was inspired by my favourite Italian restaurant in Dublin when I was at university. Fried golden croquettes of lightly flavoured rice with a creamy centre, this is comfort food at its finest.

What are Suppli?

Suppli are beautiful Italian rice croquettes, usually made with left over risotto and a fresh ragú sauce.

Sometimes they have mozzarella in the middle and are called suppli al telefono, as the hot melted mozzarella stretches like a telephone line when they are broken in half.

Suppli are originally from Rome but can now be found all over Italy as antipasto or street food. They are very similar to their equally tasty Sicilian cousin, arancini.

I normally make a quick vegan aioli to dip this in but haven’t had the time to write up the recipe. But never fear, these fabulous vegan recipes for dips from some amazing blogging colleagues of mine will pair very well with these suppli.

Roasted Vegan Aioli by Healthy Happy Life

Easy Spanish Alioli by Cilantro & Citronella

Sriracha Vegan Aioli by Sustainable Cooks

Aquafaba Garlicky Mayo by the Vegan Larder

Homemade Marinara Sauce by Where You Get Your Protein

How to Make a Quick “Risotto” Bianco

First, we need to get the rice ready. I totally put the word risotto in quotes so that no Italian would get angry with me, because we’re skipping several steps and some ingredients here, in the name of ease and speed.

If you have any leftover risotto that would be perfect, otherwise we’ll make some quick flavored white rice a la risotto bianco.

Finely chop one onion and fry until slightly golden in the olive oil. Add in the crushed garlic and sauté one minute more. Add in the rice and toast for 2 – 3 minutes, stirring often so it doesn’t burn.

Next add in the wine. You don’t have to use an amazing white wine for this, but dry is better if possible.

When the wine has evaporated, you can start adding in the stock 1/2 a cup at a time, cooking on medium-low heat. Only add in more stock once all the stock in the pan has been fully absorbed.

Once all the stock is gone, cover the pan with a lid or tinfoil and turn off the heat, and leave for ten minutes. Take off the lid and check that the rice is done properly.

Now you need to leave the rice until it’s cool enough to handle. If you have plenty of time, just leave walk away and leave it in the pot to cool down.

If you’d like your suppli a bit faster, take out the rice and spread it in a layer over some cookie sheets or baking paper, so it will cool down faster.

Making Suppli

In the meantime, slice your vegan mozzarella (or any melty cheese) into inch long pieces, about a centimeter wide. You can really stuff these with whatever you want, but I find the round arancini shape better for less-cheesy ingredients.

Prep two bowls, one with a little of the dried breadcrumbs and the other with the plant-based milk. If you wish you can use herbed breadcrumbs or make your own by adding some dried oregano and basil to the crumbs.

Wet hands will make the rice easier to deal with, so you can add a bowl of water to dip and wet your fingers in if you want.

Next, grab a small handful of rice and flatten it using your hands. Place a piece of the veggie mozzarella in the middle and form the rice around it into a long cigar shape.

Use your hands to round the ends of the cigar shape so you have a nice neat cylinder. Then, either using your fingers or a pastry brush, wet the outside of the rice with the plant-based milk. I do NOT recommend dipping the suppli in the milk as they will fall apart.

Quickly roll the damp suppli in the breadcrumbs and place on a sheet of baking paper or a silicone mat while you make the rest. Only add the breadcrumbs to the breadcrumb bowl little by little as otherwise they will get soggy and clump together.

Now it’s time to cook the suppli. These little cheesy babies need to be cooked in hot oil, and LOTS of it. In the interest of being healthier, I tried baking these, and the results were just not as good.

They were drier, the exterior was unpleasantly crunchy, and the color was not as nice, a pale smudged yellow.

You can either deep fry the suppli until a golden-orange colour, or fry in an inch or two of oil, turning over halfway through until both sides have browned sufficiently. Serve hot with a luscious sauce for dipping, and plenty of salad!