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Golden Honey Cheese Bites — fried cheese bites in batter, golden and finished with a delightful honey and pistachio drizzle. Imagine you have to improvise an aperitif or an appetizer and don’t know what to put on the table: relax, I’ll help you now! A few days ago an unexpected phone call told me friends would visit us in the late afternoon, so I decided to get cooking and prepare a last-minute original and tasty aperitif. Beyond the usual snacks, French fries and more, I also thought of preparing battered and fried cheese bites using Fenum Mini cheese from “Tre Cime Dairy”. A delicate and aromatic cheese, made as the name suggests with hay milk. The Fenum Mini is not only especially tasty but also lactose-free, ideal for those intolerant to lactose. The Fenum Mini has a soft texture, so to batter and fry it I followed a few small tips which I’ll explain in the recipe; once my bites were golden I served them with a drizzle of honey and some chopped pistachios. In short, with a few ingredients I created a simple, delicious and slightly chic finger food for an aperitif. Want to try the recipe too? Let’s go to the kitchen — our cheese bites are waiting!
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients to make the fried cheese bites
- 14 oz Fenum Mini cheese
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (for dusting the cheese)
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (for the batter)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- to taste honey (eucalyptus or whatever you have)
- to taste unsalted pistachios (or other nuts)
- sunflower oil (high-oleic or another healthy frying oil)
Tools
- Pot
- Bowls
- Skimmer
- Freezer
- Fine-mesh strainer
Steps to make battered fried cheese bites
Start with the cheese: remove the outer part and cut it into medium-sized cubes (about 3/4 × 3/4 in or slightly less). Toss the cheese cubes in flour so the flour adheres well, then place them in the freezer for 45 minutes. The freezing step is essential to be able to fry a cheese that would otherwise melt immediately. Prepare a batter by mixing the flour, cold water, an egg and a pinch of baking powder, taking care not to form lumps, then start heating the oil. Take three or four frozen bites at a time, dip them into the batter and stir so it clings, then immerse them in the hot oil and lift them as soon as they start to sizzle. Fry only a few bites at a time so you can manage the cooking; once removed from the oil, place them on paper towels for fried food and, using a metal strainer, remove any large impurities from the hot oil. Arrange the fried bites on a plate, drizzle with a little honey, sprinkle with chopped pistachios and serve immediately while still hot, gooey and crunchy.
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