Sartù di riso — rice ring with meatballs, peas and mozzarella

Drain the mozzarella, weigh out 150 g of cheese, cut into small cubes and refrigerate. Chop the onion and basil leaves. Beat the eggs, weigh out 100 g and divide into two 50 g portions; keep one for the meat and refrigerate the other. Also divide the measured cheese, breadcrumbs, butter, salt and water as listed in the ingredients. Have a wide, heavy-bottomed pot with a lid ready.

In a bowl, combine the beef with 50 g beaten egg, 25 g breadcrumbs, 20 g Parmigiano Reggiano, 2 g salt and all the pepper. Mix briefly until combined, without prolonged kneading. Divide into 40 small meatballs about 2–2.5 cm across and place on a plate. Do not coat them with extra breadcrumbs or flour. Wash your hands and utensils after handling raw meat.

Heat all 20 g olive oil in the wide pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring, until softened without heavy browning. Pour in the passata and 200 g of the measured water. Add all the basil and the remaining 3 g salt, stir and bring to a gentle simmer. The sauce should form a wide enough layer to hold the meatballs without crowding them tightly.

Add all the meatballs to the gently simmering sauce. Partially cover and cook over low heat for 40–45 minutes. For the first few minutes, shake the pot instead of stirring with a spoon, then turn the meatballs gently. Keep the sauce bubbling quietly so it does not stick. Transfer all the cooked meatballs to a clean bowl and cover. Leave all the sauce, rendered fat and meat juices in the pot.

Heat the remaining 300 g water in a small saucepan. Add the uncooked rice to all the sauce left from the meatballs and stir. Cook over low or medium heat for about 10–12 minutes, stirring frequently along the bottom. Add the hot water in several additions as each is absorbed, using all the measured 300 g. Do not rinse the rice beforehand and do not drain the mixture as it cooks.

Add all 150 g frozen peas without thawing. Cook for about another 5–6 minutes, stirring, until the peas are hot and the rice is slightly firm in the center. The mixture should be thick and moist, without a separate pool of liquid; a spoon drawn through it should briefly reveal the bottom. If the rice is still hard, cover for a few minutes over very low heat, watching the bottom closely. Do not add extra water.

Take the pot off the heat. Stir in 8 g butter and the remaining 20 g Parmigiano Reggiano, then transfer the rice to a wide bowl. Cool for about 20 minutes, stirring gently a few times; it should be warm but no longer steaming. Only then add the reserved 50 g beaten egg and mix thoroughly. Do not add the egg to very hot rice, or it will set in separate lumps.

Preheat the oven to 175°C with conventional top and bottom heat. Use a ring mold with an internal diameter of about 24 cm, a height of 8 cm and a central hole about 8 cm across, holding at least 3 liters. Butter the entire inside, including the center tube, with all the remaining 12 g butter. Coat with 25 g breadcrumbs. Tip any loose crumbs into a small bowl and reserve for the top, so the entire amount is used.

Set aside about one-third of the rice to close the ring. Use the rest to line the bottom and both the outer and inner walls of the mold, pressing gently with the back of a spoon. Make a casing about 1.5–2 cm thick. Leave a wide channel running all around the center tube. Check that there are no gaps at the bottom or beside the tube where the filling might touch the mold.

Arrange all 40 meatballs in the channel in two loose layers around the entire ring. Add all the drained mozzarella, pressing the cubes between the meatballs. Scrape in the juices from the bowl that held the cooked meatballs as well. Do not press the filling into the walls or above the mold's rim; leave room above it for the reserved rice layer that will enclose everything.

Cover the filling with all the reserved rice. Press gently, join it to the edges and level the surface. Sprinkle with all the crumbs saved when coating the mold. Bake on the middle rack for 45–50 minutes at 175°C, until the top is golden and the whole bake is thoroughly heated and set. If the surface browns too quickly, cover loosely with aluminum foil toward the end of baking.

Let the mold stand for 15 minutes after taking it out of the oven. Gently loosen the edges with a thin spatula, cover with a large plate and, wearing oven mitts, invert in one confident movement. Lift off the mold and divide the ring into 6 portions. Quickly divide leftovers among shallow containers and refrigerate, preferably within an hour. Use within 24 hours; reheat only once, until the portion is steaming and hot throughout.