Question about an Italian appetizer...
 

My husband and I just got back from Rome last week (2nd time there and we had a fabulous time!). We found a trattoria one night for dinner that had delicious food (the gnocci was wonderful!). Unfortunately I didn't catch the name and we accidently left the receipt on the table, but it was a few blocks north of the Pantheon, not far from Giolitti. Anyways, while there the waiter suggested that my husband and I split an mixed appetizer plate for two. Because all the appetizers on the menu looked delicious, we decided to trust him and we ordered it. Mixed in with the various appetizers was something that was delicious but we don't know what it is! The best way to describe it is to say that it was almost like a big, fried dough ball. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside but not stuffed with anything. It was covered with a little marinara sauce and a square of semi-melted mozzerella cheese. It kind of looked like the breaded mashed potato balls that were also on the plate. It was really good and not very greasy. I didn't recognize it as being listed on the appetizer menu, but since the menu was mostly in Italian it was probably on there but I couldn't read it. I was just wondering what it was so I can order it next time I'm in Italy! Any ideas?

Thanks!
Tracy

Was it fried polenta perhaps? I've had that served with marinara sauce and melted mozzarella, but never in Italy, only in the USA.

Based on your description it sounds like a savory version of a <i>Fritelle</i>. I prefer the dessert versions and the Zabaglione Fritelle available in Venice during the holiday season are among my favorite.

Thank you both for your replies. I did some searching on fritelle and it sounds like that's what it could be. I found a website that gave a basic recipe that basically includes flour, salt, yeast and water. It sounds like most appetizer versions have some kind of vegetable or stuffing in them, but I'm pretty sure ours was just the dough mixture fried. Sounds similar like a beignet but without all the powdered sugar.

Thanks again!
Tracy

How about Arancini? Cooked rice, rolled in a ball, stuffed...then fried. Or not stuffed.

is that the same thing as suppli? rice stuffed w/ chees and pancetta then fried in olvie oil?

Could the ball have been made of rice? If so, it may have been arancini, a Sicilian rice ball snack/fast food lunch, which has some other funny name in Rome--suppli al telefono, I think.

Thanks again for all the replies! Nope, it definitely wasn't stuffed with anything. When I cut it up to eat it, there was nothing in it. It was very light and the outside was bubbly from the air pockets the dough made as it fried, if that makes sense.

Was it somewhat like a fried donut, but not any particular shape? Was it like those fried dough things that are usually covered with honey syrup or powdered sugar, but in your cae, covered with cheese instead?

It sounds like a Sicilian fried dough dish that my relatives call speenge- prononced spee-gee with long e sounds. We make it on St. Joseph's day, March 19 exclusively.

JJ: Sfince?

My family friends in Naples prepare a delicious fried polenta shaped in the form of crab cakes (shape) and then fried in olive oil. That sounds like what you ate, just shaped in more of a ball shape.

Polenta is common throughout Italy and is eaten as a special food, along with fish stew, for New Year's Eve dinner (in Liguria).

And the plot thickens....! I can't really comment on polenta because I don't really know what it is. Is it kind of like cornmeal? I'm assuming that polenta may be denser than the appetizer we had. The appetizer was very light and fluffy in the middle, not solid throughout. The outside was crisy and fried, but the inside was light and fluffy. I guess in a way it could have been similar to a doughnut but definitely not as dense. Perhaps it was similar to a sopapilla found in most Mexican restaurants but without all the sugar and honey, as I think cmt was referring to. And while they were basically round, they weren't molded into a perfectly round ball or anything.

Stromboli?
dough, cheese, tomato sauce. Baked.
or Zeppole, ball of dough, cheese, sauce. Fried in oil.

I thought I answered this question? Am I the only one who eats <i>fritelle</i> by the dozen when in Italy?

And why is your answer the only one that could possibly be right, FoodSnob? It could be any of the other various things as well. In fact, I was wondering about a fried fresh mozzerella ball which could even fit the description you mention. They can be very light, but crispy on the outside, and I've had them served with marinara sauce.
But it could have been any of the things mentioned.

oh well... arancini, fritelle, any other fritter...

You'll just have to go back and try it again AND ask the chef/cook

There's no other answer for it! &lt;GRIN&gt;

<i>And why is your answer the only one that could possibly be right?</i>

Because I'm always right, dear. ;;)

<i>But it could have been any of the things mentioned.</i>

Not if you read her description carefully and know the cuisine.

I agree...they're fritelle. They serve them as an appetizer at one of the restaurants near my house. And also usually in bags at the local fairs. Yummilicious!

Fritelle is what it is and you can find them all over and here in the atates at your local Italian festivals sometimes stuffed with anchovies but at the street stands you choose your topping.