Spicy Fried Cheese Balls with Mango Sauce

It’s time to close the summer out with a bang! These fried cheese balls are incredible on their own as an appetizer, but are also great to serve on a salad in place of croutons or crumbled cheese. They can be made with any flavor of our Fresh Sheep’s Milk Cheese, but the combo of Spicy Chilis with the sweet mango sauce is perfection! I prefer mine on the larger side (a.k.a. extra cheesy), but you can make them smaller if you want to serve them as an hors d’oeuvres.

Also, don’t skip on the double breading and double freeze method – especially if you are going with a larger size ball.

You can find our cheese and other local products at our shop in Weston. Or ask your local cheese counter/monger for us!

Cheese Ball Ingredients:

• 8 ounces Spicy Chilis Fresh Sheep’s Milk Cheese (You can make each ball anywhere from a half ounce to an ounce depending on how big you want them. Use however much cheese you need. Tip: an ounce scoop is great to use to help measure).
• 1/4 cup of avocado or olive oil (I like to use a mix of both)
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• salt and pepper
• cilantro for garnish

Sauce Ingredients:

• half a mango
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1/4 cup avocado oil
• 1 teaspoon honey
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Start by rolling the cheese into balls. Size is up to you, but somewhere between a half ounce and ounce is good. Once they are all rolled, pop them into the freezer for 10-15 minutes. This will help with the dredging process.

While they are in the freezer, get your station ready. Beat the eggs and have them set in one bowl. Put the flour in another shallow bowl or plate. Season the breadcrumbs with salt and pepper and have them ready in a third shallow bowl.

After removing the balls from the freezer, start by rolling one in the flour until coated all over. Next coat in the egg. Finally, coat with the breadcrumbs being sure to gently press them into the ball on all sides.

Repeat the process again for double breading. This makes sure you get a super crunchy coating that will protect the cheese inside.

After double breading all of the cheese, freeze the balls again for 10-15 minutes. This ensures that the cheese inside doesn’t melt and ooze out before the outside is fried all over.

Heat the oil until sizzling. Add a four or five balls to the oil, making sure there’s enough room to turn them easily. Fry for a minute or two on each side until all the breading is crisp and golden brown. Remove from the pan and place onto a wire rack. Continue until they are all fried.

For the sauce: Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.

To serve: Smear some mango sauce on a plate. Top with cheese balls and garnish with chopped cilantro.