Fried Cheese Balls

Last recipe of my summer partnership with Alvalle! With this one, I intentionally chose to mix the flavors of three countries that are dear to my heart: Switzerland with emmental cheese, Brazil with cheese balls (originally “bolinhos de queijo”) and Spain with this delicious olive oil fry. The result is sensational: crispy, golden and plump little dumplings with a melted, runny cheese interior! Decadent certainly, but so greedy… After all, I’m happy to take care of Alvalle’s gourmet category! Let’s assume 100% and devour these little wonders without qualms!  

When the liquid boils, add the flour all at once.

Remove from heat and stir briskly with a wooden spoon, then return to low heat. While still mixing, cook the dough for two or three minutes as for a choux pastry.

The dough is ready! 

Without burning yourself, try to knead the dough. It will cool fairly quickly and become soft and smooth to the touch.

Cut Emmental cheese into cubes. 

Scoop out a walnut-sized ball of dough. 

Dig a cavity with your thumb and enlarge it (as if you were making a pottery!) to place a cube of Emmental cheese. 

Close the dough around the cheese. 

Then roll the ball between your palms. 

Do the same with all the dough. 

The cheese should not be on the surface of the dumpling, otherwise they will open up when fried…

Roll dumplings in beaten egg. 

Then in breadcrumbs. 

Fry the meatballs in a pan of hot olive oil. 

I prefer to do the frying in two batches. This prevents the pellets from bursting. They should be fried once so that their color is golden, but lightly. 

After this first bath, let them cool down a bit (while the next batch is baking) and then give them a second bath to give them a nice golden color. On the picture below: you can see the dumplings with only one cooking on the bottom and those with two cookings on the top! 

Let cool for a few moments on paper towels. 

It’s ready!!! 

All that’s left to do is enjoy!