Deep Fried Macaroni & Cheese Balls

I have made several different recipes of fried macaroni & cheese balls, all of which have been flavorful.  What I have not liked about the recipes that I have tried, is that they are not super creamy, so I decided to experiment, resulting in this recipe.

There are seemingly a lot of steps, but each step is quite simple.  

As you work, the mac balls start off looking very rough and crude. These are very creamy inside, so the rounds require several steps of rolling, coating, and chilling to get the shape.  When you are ready to fry them, they will have a nicely rounded shape.  I seldom roll mine perfectly round, as I like them to have a slightly rustic, and homemade appearance.

When complete, these have a lightly crunchy crust, and very creamy interior.  These are a great as a side dish, or an unusual appetizer. When serving as an appetizer, I like to call these "fried pasta au gratin croquets." 

Recipe

Prep time, including freezing and cooking, 1 hour. (Half of this is waiting time, so it really is not as long of a process, as it seems).

Skill level:

Ingredients 

Macaroni Balls 

1 1/4 dry, uncooked macaroni (I prefer fusilli) 

1/2 teaspoon of salt 

1 tablespoon of unsalted butter 

3/4 cup sour cream 

1/4 teaspoon of rosemary, very finely chopped 

1/4 cup milk 

2 teaspoons flour 

1 tablespoon parsley, roughly chopped 

8 turns of a pepper grinder (1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper, if you do not have a pepper grinder) 

1 cup (heaping) of sharp cheddar or Gruyère cheese 

1 egg 

1 tablespoon milk 

1/2 cup flour 

1/2 cup breadcrumbs or Panko (I prefer seasoned & herbed bread crumbs) 

Cooking Oil 

Tomato Wine Sauce (optional)

1 tablespoon butter 

2/3 cup red wine 

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar 

1/4 cup of tomato paste 

16 turns of pepper grinder (1/2 teaspoon black pepper) 

1 tablespoon of honey 

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 

pinch of salt 

Preparation 

Macaroni Balls


1. Boil water, and add salt and macaroni. Cook macaroni to minimum cook time suggested on the package.
2. While macaroni is cooking, and in a separate sauce pan, brown 1 tablespoon of butter. (If you are not comfortable browning butter, melted is fine).
3. When butter has browned, add 1/4 cup of milk, 2 teaspoons of flour, black pepper, and 1/2 cup of sour cream. Bring to light boil.
4. Reduce heat, and add 1/2 cup of the cheese, stirring rigorously.
5. When cheese has melted and mixed with the milk mixture, remove from heat, and set aside. Sauce will be quite thick.
6. When macaroni is done cooking, pour into a colander, and rinse with cold water. This stops it from cooking. Allow to drain.
7. Add macaroni to the sauce mixture.  

8. Add rosemary, and parsley to the macaroni and sauce mixture. 
9. Using the back of a large spoon, pack macaroni and cheese flat in the bottom of the pan, and put in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes, to set the macaroni.
10. When macaroni and cheese is cool, and the sauce begins to “harden” add remaining cheese and sour cream. Stir until combined, and cheese shreds are visible in the mix.
11. Again, pack down, using a large spoon, and return to the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.
12. At the end of the chill, roll pasta balls in your hand, like rolling a dough ball, and then roll in the 1/2 cup of flour after each is rolled in the flour, re-roll with your hands. If the balls become sticky, just roll in the flour again. When each ball is rolled, return to the freezer for 5 more minutes. At this step, you may feel ice crystals, or a slight "crunchiness" to the balls as you roll them.  That is fine, just do not allow the mixture to completely freeze between steps 11 and 12.

13. At the and of the chilling, using a scoop or tablespoon, scoop the macaroni and cheese onto roughly formed balls (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches across) onto a plate lined with parchment or waxed paper. You should be able to make 8 to 10 mounds with the mixture.
14. Using your hands, pack the macaroni balls a bit. and return to the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes. Do not worry is the pasta balls are rough looking, we are not done with the rolling process.
15. While the balls chill, heat coking oil in a deep frier to 325 degrees. (If you do not have a fryer, fill a tall sauce pan with oil, until oil is roughly 3 inches deep. DO NOT OVER FILL PAN).
16. Remove the floured pasta balls from the freezer.
17. Mix the egg, and remaining tablespoon of milk. Whisk until combined, and eggs are not streaky. One by one, dip the balls in the egg mixture, and immediately roll in the 1/2 cup of bread crumbs.
18. Each ball should be nicely coated. Using your hands, roll balls again to smooth the shape. If there are sticky spots on the balls, re-roll in the breadcrumbs.

19. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
20. About 15 minutes before you want to serve, remove the pasta balls from the refrigerator. (I like to give the pasta rounds one last quick roll at this point).

21. Drop 1/2 of the batch (4 to 5 balls) in the hot oil, and cook for about 5 minutes, until deep golden brown.  (If you have a very large deep fryer, these can be cooked all at once, skipping the remaining steps, other than draining on a paper towel).
22. Drain on paper towels, and keep warm in 350 degree oven while you wait for the last half of the batch to fry.
23. Fry remaining balls in the oil, as above, for 5 minutes, until deep golden brown.
24. Drain on paper towels.
25. Remove balls from the oven. Serve while hot/warm with a drizzle of the sauce (see below).

Sauce (optional)

This can be made while waiting for the balls to chill, at Step 11

1. Brown 1 tablespoon of butter. (If you are not comfortable browning butter, melted is fine).
2. When butter is lightly browned, add (all at once) the wine, balsamic vinegar, a pinch of salt, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir over high heat until combines.
3. Add the pepper, and bring to a rapid boil.
4. When boil is achieved, reduce heat to medium high, and reduce mixture by 1/4 to 1/3 (stir occasionally), and has the thickness of chocolate syrup.

 
5. Reduce heat to low, and keep sauce warm on the stove. Stir occasionally to keep from scalding.

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For a simpler recipe, using mac & cheese leftovers, I have made this version as well: http://norecipes.com/blog/fried-mac-cheese-balls-recipe/. Frankly, I like my recipe better  ;)

Paul's Fantastic Gougére Filling

I was invited to a party, and planned to bring gouéres as an appetizer. 

I was having difficulty trying to figure out how I wanted to serve my appetizers; there are many ways to fill a gouére....from chicken salad, to tomato and cheese slices, or just plain cream cheese. Nothing I could think of sounded very appealing. I knew I wanted something a bit cheesy, a bit creamy, a nice hint of herbs. Possibly some greens. Something slightly savory.

Filled with indecision, I went online, and looked at many filling recipes. None of the recipes I saw really had all of the qualities I was looking for, so, I came up with this original recipe, which incorporates all of the elements I was looking for in a filling. And, most importantly, they are simply light and delicious!!

Skill level:

Ingredients:

Make 24 gouéres, and cool to room temperature (see recipe, previous post).

For the mouse:

1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 heaping teaspoon of finely chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon of finely chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon of curry powder
1/4 teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons of milk

1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of gelatin
1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese

Garnishments:

1 (3 ounce) package of prosciutto
1 ounce of fresh pea shoots (abavailable in the produce section of most specialty and gourmet markets)

Preparation:

Making the mousse:

Put cream cheese, rosemary, parsley, curry powder, lemon zest, milk, sugar, and gelatin in a bowl. Whip on high speed, using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, for 4 minutes, scraping bowl at 30 second intervals, until creamy. It will have the consistency of a light frosting, or mayonnaise.

All ingredients for the mousse, except the cheese, in the bowl.

The whisk attachment installed on the mixer,  whipping
the sour cream,  milk,  herbs, and spice.

Creamy mouse, awaiting the cheese.

By hand, stir in the cheese, until incorporated.  Cheese strands will be visible in the mix.  

Mouse, completed, with cheese strands visible.

Refrigerate the mousse while assembling the gougéres.

Assembly:

Typically, a 3 ounce package will have 8 slices (but I have seen them vary, slightly).  Cut the packaged prosciutto into thirds, which will yield 24 slices.

Cut gouéres in half,  I keep the halves together, as I have, on occasion, had mismatched tops.  

On the bottom half of each gouére, add a slice of prosciutto.  If the slice of prosciutto is too large, just fold it in half.  It does not have to be pretty.

Matched pastry tops and bottoms,
with prociutto on the lower half.

Take the pea shoots, and cut them at the leaf intersections, so  that there is a raw stem on one end, and a few leaves on the other  (see pictures, below).

Pea shoots, as I purchase them at the grocery.

A single pea shoot

Cut the shoot, just past each leaf cluster.

Remove mousse from refrigerator.  Add one slightly rounded teaspoon of mouse to each gouére, on top of the prosciutto slice.  If you end up with a bit extra of the mousse, just dollop a small amount on existing gouéres.

Take the cut pea shoots, two to there at a time, and put on top of the mousse,  allowing  the leaves and stems stick out of the gougére, a bit.  Like the mousse, if you have extra shoots, just add them to already topped gouéres.  If you run short, as pea shoots will vary, simply cut a few more from the bunch to finish topping the mousse.

Assembling the gougéres: bottom portion of the
pastry, prosiutto, herbed cream cheese mousse,
and a pinch of greens.

I work one set at a time, keeping tops
and bottoms of the pastries matched.

Put the tops on the pastries, and press down  gent ally.  This will even out the mousse, and allow it to be slightly visible on most of the gougéres.

Completes gougéres, with fillings sticking out slightly.

Arrenge on a plate, and refrigerate for about an hour and a half.  This will allow for the mouse to set, a but.

Ready to serve!

When ready to serve, remove the gougéres from the refrigerator, and allow to warm to room temperature.