Ricotta cheese fried balls with sauce

FACEBOOK PINTEREST MESSENGER TWITTER WHATSAPP

520

Calories per serving

Vegetarian

Energy Kcal 520
Carbohydrates g 32
of which sugars g 9.6
Protein g 24.8
Fats g 32.6
of which saturated fat g 13.6
Fiber g 3.5
Cholesterol mg 175
Sodium mg 984

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Serving: 4 people
Cost: Low
Note + time to drain the ricotta cheese (up to overnight)

PRESENTATION

Fried ricotta cheese balls with sauce seem to be traditional of Calabrian cuisine, a land rich for its sheep farming, where it is still very easy to find excellent fresh local ricotta made from both cow and sheep's milk. This second course, which involves the use of ricotta instead of meat, derives from traditional country cooking. It is made of very simple, but genuine, delicious ingredients. Dipped in tomato sauce, they are even softer and tastier! Tasty and nutritious, fried ricotta cheese balls with sauce are perfect for a vegetarian menu, but can also be transformed into a gluten-free recipe if you use gluten-free bread. Try our version of ricotta cheese balls with sauce and... it will be love at first taste!

INGREDIENTS

520

Calories per serving

Ingredients for about 25 cheese balls: Sheep's milk ricotta cheese 1.3 cups (350 g); Homemade bread 1.3 cups (140 g) - crumbs; Pecorino cheese ¾ cup (60 g) - to be grated; Parmigiano Reggiano DOP cheese 3 tbsp (40 g) - to be grated; Eggs 2 - medium; Garlic 1 clove; Parsley 1 tbsp - to be minced; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste

For the sauce: Tomato puree 4 ½ cups (750 g); Garlic 1 clove; Basil to taste; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Salt to taste; Black pepper to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Ricotta cheese fried balls with sauce

Before you start preparing the fried ricotta cheese balls with sauce, drain the whey from the sheep's milk ricotta by placing it in a narrow mesh strainer in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours, preferably overnight. Then proceed as follows: remove the crust of the bread, cut the soft part out 1 and then finely chop it in the mixer 2. Meanwhile, take the ricotta cheese and sieve it with a narrow mesh strainer 3.

Place the chopped crumbs in a large bowl with the sifted ricotta cheese 4, then add the crushed half clove of garlic 5 and whole beaten eggs 6.

Add the grated Parmigiano Reggiano and pecorino cheese 7, parsley, salt 8 and pepper to taste. Then mix all the ingredients well with a fork 9.

Mix well until soft but compact 10. Put a little oil on the palms of your hands 11 and, taking a portion of the dough, form meatballs of about 1 3/4 tbsp (30 g) each 12.

Continue until you have about 25 pieces 13. Set aside and proceed with the preparation of the sauce: brown the oil and a clove of garlic in a pan 14; once the garlic is golden, remove it from the heat 15.

Add the tomato puree 16, a pinch of salt and basil leaves 17, then add pepper to taste 18.

Bring the sauce to a boil over low heat, then add the ricotta meatballs you have prepared 19, distributing them evenly. Leave to cook for about 10 minutes over low heat 20. Once the time has elapsed, turn off and serve the ricotta cheese balls with sauce while hot 21.

Storage

Fried ricotta cheese balls with sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container for a maximum of 1-2 days in an airtight container. They can be frozen after cooking.

Tips

It is impossible to resist this delicious dish! The original Calabrian recipe of fried ricotta cheese balls with sauce includes the use of sheep's milk ricotta, but if you prefer, you can also use cow's milk ricotta. If you want to try a variation of this recipe, you can fry the ricotta balls in olive oil instead of cooking them in tomato puree.