Sartù di Riso alla Napoletana

Method

1. Prepare the tomato sauce: In a pot with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, sauté a bit of chopped onion and basil. Add the tomato passata and cook over low heat for about one hour.
2. Prepare the mini meatballs: Mix ground meat with a higher percentage of meat, less bread, and plenty of cheese. Form small meatballs.
3. Cook the peas: In a non-stick pan, sauté the frozen peas with a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt.
4. Cook the sausage: Use thin sausage (cervellatina). Heat a non-stick pan with a drop of oil and cook the sausage until done.
5. Hard-boil the eggs: Boil the eggs until hard, then set aside.
6. Toast the rice: In a pot with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and some chopped onion, sauté until the onion is golden. Add the rice and start cooking with hot broth. Halfway through cooking, add half of the tomato sauce. Near the end, adjust salt and add half of the peas.
7. Prepare and line the mold: Butter a 26 cm ring mold and coat it evenly with breadcrumbs.
8. Let the rice cool slightly until warm (not hot) so it is more compact. Press the rice into the mold to coat the bottom and sides, creating a well in the center.
9. Fill the well: Place in the well the mini meatballs, sliced sausage, remaining peas, a few spoonfuls of the reserved tomato sauce, pieces of fior di latte (fresh mozzarella), and crumbled hard-boiled egg. Cover everything with the remaining rice, pressing gently to compact.
10. Bake in the oven until golden and set (the assembled dish weighs about 2–3 kg). Let it rest for 10–15 minutes before unmolding.
11. Unmold onto a large plate. Fill the center with the reserved meatballs, peas, and tomato sauce as tradition dictates.