Courgette and ricotta cheese balls
Light, tasty, quick-to-prepare courgette and ricotta cheese balls that can be fried or baked in the oven. They are always super delicious, as finger food for an antipasto or as a side dish. In Italian the generic name for all kinds of (meat)balls is “polpette”, and this is what I will use in this recipe because it better fits this delicious variation.
Ingredients
- 800 g Courgettes
- 200 g Ricotta cheese
- 75 g Parmesan cheese
- 50 g breadcrumbs
- 3 fresh basil sprigs
- 2 fresh mint sprigs
- 1 fresh chili pepper
- 2 eggs
- salt
- extra breadcrumbs for breading
- 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
- extra virgin olive oil, e.g. from il circolo, for frying or to sprinkle before baking
Method
- Wash the courgettes well and remove the two ends. Grate the raw courgettes and squeeze them well once grated to remove excess liquid.
- Place the grated and squeezed raw courgettes in a bowl together with the ricotta cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, the whole eggs, the finely cut basil, mint leaves, chili pepper, and some salt and mix well with your hands to obtain a smooth and soft dough. Add more breadcrumbs if the dough is to humid.
- Using your hands (moistened with water), form small balls and flatten them slightly.
- Roll each ball in a mixture of breadcrumbs and sesame seeds.
- Heat two or three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan and cook the polpette on both sides for about 5 minutes. Then place on paper towels in a shallow bowl and allow to drain. The polpette can be served warm or cold.
Tips
- Since ricotta is not so easy to get in northern Europe, you can also replace it with a mixture of low-fat quark and cottage cheese.
- If you prefer a somewhat lighter version, you can also prepare the polpette in the oven: place the polpette on baking paper, sprinkle them with extra virgin olive oil and bake in a preheated oven at 200° for about 20 minutes until golden brown.
- Otherwise, you can also fry them: Heat plenty of oil in a high-sided frying pan and fry the polpette for about 5 minutes. Drain the courgette and ricotta polpette and dry them on paper towels.
