Baked Mini Rice Balls Stuffed with Soppressata

These are Baked Mini Rice Balls Stuffed with Soppressata, an Italian cured salami, with eggs, butter, Pecorino, and Parmigiano cheeses. Then rolled into mini balls and lightly coated in breadcrumbs, and baked until golden and tender. A fun appetizer to serve at your next gathering! Make, bake, and serve these little guys with some fresh marinara sauce for dipping and watch them disappear!

How These Baked Mini Rice Balls Stuffed with Soppressata Came About?

One week before our vacation, while we were packing for our trip to New York to spend time with our family, my daughter came home from school and asked if I could make her favorite mini rice balls to bring to her best friend’s backyard party.

Of course,  I said – for when?  She tells me it’s for tonight and that she needs to bring them in one hour!  I could feel my stress level start to rise immediately. I needed to take my blood pressure right there, but I couldn’t; I didn’t have time!

Realizing I had less than an hour to pull it off, I decided it would be best to throw them into the oven and bake them rather than fry them.  I didn’t have any mozzarella either, so I decided to add in some soppressata instead, to give it more of a flavorful punch; a spicy flavor similar to a sausage.

What is Soppressata?

If you have never had soppressata before, well, let me tell you: it is an Italian dry salami (from southern Italy) that is cured with pepper and garlic for a couple of months, making it a little spicy.

This particular salami happens to be the most popular cured meat served in restaurants and on charcuterie boards.

A Great Tip! 

If you are planning to have a gathering, these rice balls can be made the day before.  Refrigerate them overnight. When ready, allow them to sit on the counter to warm up at room temperature (about 20 to 30 minutes) just before you pop them into the oven. Best to bake them before serving.

 

Ingredients: Baked Mini Rice Balls Stuffed with Soppressata:

For our baked mini rice balls recipe, you will need the following ingredients:

• 2 cups long-grain rice
• 4 cups of water
• 1 tsp. salt
• 5 Tbsp. butter- divided
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. organic dried parsley
• 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
• 2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
• 4 to 5 slices of soppressata salami
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups plain breadcrumbs
• olive oil cooking spray
• 1 cup mom’s quick marinara sauce for dipping

How to Make Baked Mini Rice Balls Stuffed with Soppressata?

If this is your first time, no worries, it is relatively easy. But first, let’s run through our steps so you’ll understand what’s involved before you start.

1. In a medium-sized saucepot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil.  Add rice, 2 tablespoons of butter (to flavor the rice while cooking), and 1 teaspoon of salt.
Cover with a lid and lower the heat to simmer for 20 minutes.  Rice should be tender to the bite.

2. In the meantime, chop the salami slices into small bite-sized pieces.

3. Remove the rice from the heat, and add 3 eggs, the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, and mix well until the butter completely dissolves into the rice mixture.  Next, add the parsley, olive oil, cheeses, and chopped dry salami.  Mix well again and taste the rice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the rice mixture to a bowl and set it aside to cool for about 15 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.  Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

5. When the rice mixture is cool enough to work with. Place the breadcrumbs into a plate or bowl. With a teaspoon or small ice cream scooper, scoop a small amount of rice mixture into your palm and roll into a small ball (the size of 1 to 2 inches).

6. Roll each rice ball into the breadcrumbs until completely coated. Place each one onto the baking sheet.

7. Continue until you finish the rice mixture.  You can place them side by side, or use 2 baking trays if needed.

8. Lightly spray the tops of the rice balls with olive oil cooking spray to keep them moist.

9. Bake the mini rice balls for 10 minutes. Then turn over the balls and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until they are a golden color.  Remove and serve with some marinara sauce for dipping.

Yields: 53 mini rice balls

A Delicious Appetizer

The final story…I originally baked the rice balls at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.  I thought they were perfect and moist inside, but not crispy enough for my Lizzy.

So I put them back into the oven to bake them longer and at a higher temperature until they turned golden brown (not shown).  She preferred them crispier, but I was worried about drying them out.  

And to my surprise, they turned out really good!  Lizzy said everyone loved them at the party so much that they disappeared so quickly! And I was glad about that! Try this recipe…

and Enjoy!

Have a delicious day and Happy Baking! 🙂

xo anna and liz