Abruzzo Recipe: Pallotte Cacio e Ove (Cheese & Egg balls)
Join us and learn how to make another traditional Abruzzese dish. If you leave feeling inspired, take your Italian experience a step further with a Food Tour in Abruzzo.
Pallotte Cacio e Ove (Cheese & Egg Balls) were the meatballs of the poor people of Abruzzo. As many ‘Contadini’ (farmers) couldn’t afford to buy and eat meat, they used old cheese, eggs, old bread & tomatoes to make this tasty recipe instead. Let’s see how to make it.
Difficulty
Easy
Preparation
15 min
Cooking
15/20 min
Serves
Ten people
Ingredients for Cacio e Ove
For the dough:
- Two medium organic eggs (about 70 gr each)
- 200 gr of Pecorino cheese (you can mix any hard cheese you have in the fridge)
- 150 gr of stale bread without crust
- A few sprigs of fresh parsley, finely chopped
- A drop of (any) milk
- Two tbs of Extra Virgin Olive oil.
For the tomato sauce:
- 1.5 kg of tin plum tomatoes (alternative for a quicker result, use passata)
- One onion (optional)
- Extra Virgin Olive oil
For frying:
One litre of seed oil (Sunflower or any other)
Tools
- A bowl
- Cheese grater
- A non-stick pan
- Small deep frying pan
Preparation
Stir fry the chopped onion, and cook over medium heat until tender.
Bring the tomatoes to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20/25 minutes. (if you use the passata 5 minutes will be more than enough, so you can heat it up later in the process once the balls are fried).
In a bowl, start mixing the eggs and milk. Then, tear off and add the bread into small crumbs and leave it to rest for 20 minutes. Crush the bread with a fork until smooth, then add the cheese, the chopped parsley, and the olive oil and mix well.
You should create a mixture that is still very moist but firm enough to handle. If necessary, add some more bread. Form the mixture into ‘meatballs’ of the same size.
Heat the frying oil to 160 degrees Celsius (320 fortnight) and fry all the meatballs 3/4 at a time until they get gold.
Make sure to drain them from the oil, even with the help of absorbing kitchen paper
Once you fried them all, add them to the tomato sauce and stir them for 5/8 minutes so that the ‘Pallotte’ can absorb some sauce.
This should be the end result, with the tomato sauce slow-cooked.
Inside they should be spongy & not wet.
BUON APPETITO!
Mamma’s Top Secrets
- Use different kinds of cheeses
- Use organic fresh eggs
Don’t forget
- Drop the balls carefully into the oil
- Drain them with some kitchen paper
Ready to explore Italian culinary culture for yourself? Tour a tour! Our Day Tours in Abruzzo feature unmissable options, such as pasta-making lessons and truffle hunting. If you have Italian heritage, you may also wish to consider an Abruzzo Genealogy Tour.