Home cooking: Bolitas de Queso (cheese balls)

Hi, today I am going to tell you how to make cheese balls, customary of Brazil. It is very typical to make this type of little fried dishes for children’s birthdays there. However, we can make them to nibble whenever as a snack. In some places we can find them frozen, ready to put into the deep-fryer, but they are not as good as home-made ones. So, I am going to teach you how to make them. As you will see, it’s very simple.

Ingredients to make the dough:

• 200 millilitres of milk
• 300 millilitres of water
• Three tablespoons of butter (large tablespoons)
• One stock cube (e. g. chicken)
• 4 glasses of plain wheat flour (approx. 440g)
• Salt to taste

Other necessary ingredients:

• Milk and breadcrumbs
• Olive oil
• 300 grams of mozzarella in cubes

Add the 200 millilitres of milk, the 300 millilitres of water, the three tablespoons of butter, the stock cube, and a little salt to a pan and stir it about at a high heat in order to maintain a soup like consistency and to thoroughly melt the butter.

When it has completely melted, lower the heat a bit and add the flour all in one go, but in order to avoid lumps make sure that you do not stop stirring.

You will see that bit by bit, a paste is formed and the mixture no longer has a liquid consistency. When you have achieved this texture, turn off the heat. On a smooth surface spread a little butter and place the the dough on top to cool.

When it is cool, take small dollops of the dough and mould it into balls. When you have formed the little ball, make a hole in the middle and insert a cube of cheese. When the cheese is inside, continue to knead the ball so that the hole closes up with the cheese in the centre of the dough. Once you have done this with all of the balls, first dip them into milk and then into the breadcrumbs. Shake them off a bit so that they don’t have too much stuck on them and then put them in the deep-fryer with the hot oil or in a frying pan if you do not own a deep-fryer. If you have a lot, it is better to do them in batches. Once all of them are a golden colour, take them out and put them on a plate with some kitchen roll to absorb the rest of the oil. Now they are ready to eat, hot or cold. I like them better hot, but they aren't bad cold either, just like croquettes.

Photo gallery