Supplì vs. Arancini

Suppli by Anna Mayer

We are extremely intrigued to learn about Suppli, a Roman fried rice ball that is a cousin of the Sicilian arancini. Suppli traditionally have a cheese filling (MOST traditionally with chicken giblets), while arancini have a filling of meat ragu and peas. Of course the fillings of each can vary wildly depending on the creativity of the chef. Overall, arancini tend to be bigger (sometimes even baseball sized) while suppli are smaller. Both suppli and arancini were traditionally found in fried snack shops, but now are popular antipasti at pizzerias and other casual restaurants. We are dumbfounded that we did not have any suppli while in Rome (we need to correct that error ASAP). In any case, we think the US needs some more fried rice treats, whether suppli or arancini.