Recipe for cheese balls, not at all floury, with a crispy exterior and a soft melted interior. They are great as hot appetizers for parties. I tell you in all honesty that I can barely stop eating when I make them. Ingredient:
• 500 g cheese (plain or smoked)
• 1 egg
• 50 g flour
• A teaspoon of grated salt
• Optional 25 g jalapeno (for 1/2 of the composition)
• And oil for frying
First we put the cheese on the small grater. I must mention that the most suitable for this recipe is the ordinary Romanian cheese, the simple or smoked one. I do not recommend using mozzarella, telemea, cheddar or other cheeses because the texture and taste will not be so good. In case you still have some cheese leftovers that you want to get rid of, you can process them here, but within the limit of 100 g.
Add a teaspoon of salt, a single beaten egg and flour. Not more than 50 grams. Knead to get some kind of dough.
To see if the dough is good, take a piece and form a ball. If a smooth and beautiful ball comes out, the dough is ready to use. If the ball does not bind well, gradually add a teaspoon of water, and knead until the dough becomes more cohesive. This step is usually necessary when the cheese has been uncovered in the refrigerator for too long and has dried.
We form small balls (~ 20 g) from this composition. You do not need flour for shaping because this composition is not sticky.
In the middle of the composition I add the chopped jalapeno pieces. The combination of cheese and jalapeno is at least phenomenal for me. I adore!
I got about 40 cheese balls. They can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for at least 24 hours. Basically you can make them the day before and when the guests come you just have to fry them. They can even be frozen in tightly closed bags. They can even be emptied after freezing, for perfect preservation.
For frying you need enough oil so that the balls float. If they stick to the bottom of the pan during frying, they burn.
The oil must not be too hot when frying.
Put a few balls on a spoon or spatula and gently lower them into the oil, do not let them up, because the hot oil can splash you. Stir gently to encourage the pellets to come off the bottom of the pot so they don't burn.
The meatballs should be fried for about 3 minutes, to allow the cheese to melt halfway. If the oil is too hot, the balls will brown quickly on the outside in a minute, but the cheese does not have time to melt.
The balls are removed from the oil on the kitchen napkins, then immediately offered to the diners accompanied by ketchup. If the cheese cools, it solidifies and we don't want that. That's why it's a good idea to have everything ready for serving before you start frying.
If you have frozen the balls, they can be fried directly from the frozen state, in which case they may take a little longer, or they can be thawed before and then fried normally.
If you have leftovers cooked from the table, they can be reheated for 5 minutes in an oven heated to 220 degrees Celsius. But the best ones are freshly fried.
Good appetite!