The name is first attested in the 19th century, and is a corruption of the term en surprise, which is used in French cuisine for all types of croquettes or pieces of meat covered with breadcrumbs.[4]
Originally, they were filled with chicken giblets, mincemeatorprovatura (a type of cheese from Lazio),[1] now also with a piece of mozzarella; the whole morsel is soaked in egg, coated with breadcrumbs and then fried (usually deep fried).[1] They are closely related to Sicilianarancini and the Frenchcroquettes, sometimes called croquettes en surprise,[5] that can be made with rice.[6]Supplì can be also prepared without tomato sauce (supplì in bianco, which means 'white-style supplì').
They are usually eaten with the fingers: when one is broken in two pieces, mozzarella is drawn out in a string somewhat resembling the cord connecting a telephone handset to the hook. This has led to these dishes being known as supplì al telefono ('telephone-style supplì', in reference to cables).[7]
Supplì were originally sold at friggitorie, typical Roman shops where fried food was sold. Now they are commonly served in most pizzerias all around Italy as an antipasto.
Media related to Supplì at Wikimedia Commons
