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Cuisine Category
- Cuisine: Italian
- Prep Time: 1 hr(s)
- Cook Time: 1 hr(s)
- Serves 6
These ricotta balls can be delicately cooked in a broth for soup, fried as finger food or used as stuffing for pasta shells or canelloni. They can also be used as a side dish instead of pasta, rice or potatoes served with fish or chicken.
This recipe conjures many memories, especially for my 80 year old father. He used to be in charge of the goats when he was young in Calabria. Instead of going to school he had to chase the goats roaming on the mountain side. He spent many fresh cool mornings huddled around a big cauldron eating curds and whey with fresh crusty bread. But it was hard work milking then making the ricotta in little baskets and selling it in the village to help the family make money.
He was 26 when he came to Australia in 1956 and one of the first things he went looking for in Australia was a ricotta. He owned a fruit shop in Albert Park when he married my mother a year later, so my earliest memories of food are a mixture of fresh vegetables coming off the truck and going to a cheese factory on the way to my grandmother’s house every Sunday. We would take our own pots and they would be filled with hot ricotta and whey.
In the 60s and 70s the fruit shops were not self serve. I started serving when I was nine and used to help unload the truck and take everything to the back room. The majority of the public used to ask us how to cook broccoli and zucchini even peppers and eggplant. Those sort of vegetables were only used by the ethnic community.
In the early afternoon mum would start cooking and the aromas would waft into the shop. Many people would come in and “learn” a new recipe that they could smell and made their mouth water. I couldn’t tell them all our cooking secrets because there were no written recipes. A handful of this herb and a pinch of that spice, slowly cooked and lovingly shared.
My mother taught me to cook with confidence and to use what is in season and available.
Ingredients
1 tub of ricotta (375g)
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 whole eggs
Fresh basil or parsley
Salt and pepper
Olive oil to fry in or broth to boil in
Preparation
Put the ricotta in a deep mixing bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, cheese and eggs. Mix with a fork and add the basil or parsley, oregano and salt and pepper. Leave to stand for about 15 minutes.
Mix the mixture with your hands again making sure all the bread crumbs and cheese have blended in with the ricotta. The mixture should feel soft to touch but firm enough to form balls. If it feels too soft – add bread crumbs. If it feels too dry add a half cup of milk (or broth/stock or sauce if you have some cooking). Allow to stand for another 10 minutes.
Pick up a spoon full of the mixture and form a ball. Place the balls onto a plate. These can simply be boiled in a broth – they will go to the bottom of the pot and when they are ready they will rise to the top.
Instead these can also be cooked in a tomato sauce. Fry onion in olive oil and add garlic, basil and herbs. Add a can of tomatoes (crushed/pulped) and stir. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, then add a cup of water. Bring to the boil and add the ricotta balls. The sauce should be watery and enough to cover all the balls.
The mixture can be used instead for stuffing eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, canelloni or pasta shells.
You may wish to add any other favourite flavours that may be in the fridge e.g. bacon, pancetta, grated carrot, zcchini, celery, spinach or mushrooms.
If you enjoyed this Ricotta balls recipe then browse more Italian recipes, appetiser recipes, side dish recipes, soup recipes, pasta recipes, vegetarian recipes and our most popular hainanese chicken rice recipe.
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