Looking for a stylish alternative to dips and crackers? A fancy appetiser? Contemporary, delicious finger-food to serve at a party? Look no further, Pistachio Coated Cheese Balls are what you need: creamy and rich in flavour, versatile, and extremely easy and quick to prepare!
All our recipes are pretty straight forward, but this one is just too easy! You could get the kids to it while you watch TV 😉
Let’s have a quick look at the main ingredients to help you choose the best you can.
Goat Cheese won’t be a problem to find at the farmers markets. Goat farms are common in Australia, so I’d say go for something locally produced when you can, especially if you’re going to buy a fresh product. Most sellers will let you taste the cheese before you buy it, my advice for this dish is to choose something young and delicate, although it is totally up to you.
Now, some facts:
Fresh goat cheese has about half the fat, cholesterol and calories of commercial cream cheese made from cow’s milk, which it sometimes resembles in texture.
Unlike cows, goats are browsers rather than grazers and eat a variety of grasses, weeds and shrubbery. The taste of the cheese often depends on the diet of the goats, so different parts of the country will produce different-tasting goat cheeses.
Despite the advances in modern packaging, locally produced fresh goat cheeses have a distinct advantage over imported brands or even those mass produced because they reach the consumer faster.
The other star of our delicious dish si Pistacchio di Bronte. This pistachio variety is only grown in Bronte, a town in Sicily near Catania, it comes with a DOP stamp and is a selected Slowfood precinct. The good news is that 80% of the production gets exported. Ever wondered why pistachios are so expensive?
The production is very limited: besides the fact that Bronte Pistachios are only grown in a restriced area at the foot of mount Etna, pistachio trees only bear fruit every two years and are planted in areas that prevent the use of machines to harvest the fruit.
There are cultivations of pistachios in Australia, the best quality probably be from NSW and VIC as the plant needs cool winters and hot summers.
Ingredients (serves about 4)
Р100 gr fresh goat cheese (ch̬vre)
– 100 gr thick greek yogurt
– 100 gr grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino
– 100 gr roughly grated Pistachios
– salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste
Steps
1. Mix the goat cheese, the yogurt and grated cheese in a bowl for a few minutes. Try it: if the taste is homogeneous, you’re done.
2. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg according to your taste.
3. Place mixture in the fridge for about one hour.
4. Take mixture out of the fridge and start rolling with your hands: you want small balls of about 2cm in diameter each.
5. Now roll each ball in the grated pistachio until well coated.
6. place back in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Tips&tricks
This dish has uncountable variables, as long as you keep a balance in taste and textures you can experiment with different cheeses and coatings. One example: substitute Gorgonzola to chèvre and a mixture of hazelnuts and walnuts to pistachio.
Other Recipes You May Like
For a killer finger-food buffet, check-out the Savoury Baci di Dama cookies, filled with creamy goodies!
