afoona
Fried Cheese Balls
Pastries

Fried Cheese Balls – Gluten-free version

Cheese (yellow, ricotta, Bulgarian or Parmesan) mixed with egg, a little gluten-free flour blend and spices, chilled until firm, rolled into small balls, passed through the breading stations and deep-fried until golden outside and melted inside. Gluten-free version: Gluten-free breadcrumbs and Gluten-free flour blend.

⏱ 39 min🧩 2 parts

👨‍🍳 Method

To assemble

  1. 1
    Mix the cheese, egg, gluten-free flour blend, salt and black pepper in a bowl until even.
    Bowl
  2. 2
    Refrigerate the cheese mixture for 30 minutes, so it firms up a little and holds a ball shape.
    Refrigerator
  3. 3
    Shape the mixture into balls the size of a walnut.
  4. 4
    Spread the gluten-free flour blend on a flat plate.
    💡The gluten-free flour blend dries the surface, the egg sticks to it and holds whatever comes next. Without the gluten-free flour blend, the coating tends to peel off during frying.
  5. 5
    Beat the egg in a wide bowl.
    Bowl
    💡Work with one "dry" hand for the dry coating and one "wet" hand for the egg, so your fingers don't get caked in layers of coating.
  6. 6
    Spread the crumbs on another flat plate.
  7. 7
    Pass each ball at the coating stations, in order,, pressing lightly so the coating sticks on all sides.
  8. 8
    Lift the balls out onto paper towels.
    ⚙ Deep-fryingStoveSlotted spoonCandy/oil thermometerDeep pot for frying
    💡Don't touch the balls while frying: if the coating opens, the melted cheese runs out into the oil.
    💡Keep the oil at 170–180°C (340–355°F): too cold, and the food soaks up oil; too hot, and it browns outside before the inside cooks. Without a thermometer, dip the tip of a wooden spoon in the oil: when medium bubbles form around it right away, the oil is hot enough.
    💡Don't overload the oil: every piece that goes in cools it down. Fry one piece as a test, then the rest in several batches, and transfer to paper towels.
  9. 9
    Lift the balls out onto paper towels.
    Paper towels
497calories
23 gprotein
19 gcarbs
36 gfat
● protein 19%● carbs 15%● fat 66%

Per serving (138 g), of 4 servings

To assemble ·

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⚖ About the ingredients

🔧 Tools needed (5) · 🍳 One cooking vessel

  • Refrigerator · Also works: Freezer (Chills faster; don't let it freeze) · Ice bath (Ice bath)
  • Stove · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Portable hot plate (one weaker burner) · Camping gas stove (One burner, outdoors) · Electric pressure cooker (multicooker) (One pot, no real shallow frying)
  • Deep pot for frying · Also works: Electric deep fryer (None) · Wok (Less oil, less stable)
  • Bowl · Also works: Pot (None)
  • Slotted spoon · Also works: Spider strainer (None) · Tongs (For large pieces)

🧻 Consumables: Paper towels

Helps, not needed: Candy/oil thermometer

By the steps, as the recipe is built now: another version or addition can change the list.

🧩 Parts

⚙️ What you can change

  • Possible additions: Additional cheese · Flour in the mixture · Parsley · garlic · Paprika · Nutmeg · Serve with (Yogurt) · Cooked mashed potatoes · Drying in the hot pot (minutes) (2) · Chilling after shaping (minutes) (30) · Freezing after shaping (minutes) (20)
  • Chilling the mixture (minutes): 30
  • Ball size: the size of a walnut
  • Breading order: at the coating stations, in order,
  • Oil temperature: 170
  • Frying time (minutes): 3–4
  • Shape: balls
  • Their name in the steps: the balls
  • One of them: ball

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