I was trying to figure out what to do with a container of ricotta that was expiring. I almost feel a little bit spoiled by having easy access to ricotta, thinking back to the years in Iceland when it was a rarity. Or to when my Italian friend came to visit me from Iceland and thought about taking several containers of it back with her because it’s just not something you can count on finding in Iceland (and if you do, it’s probably already expired).

I also had a bunch of meat. I found a “suggestion” on a website – ricotta-filled meatballs. The site did not really provide a recipe – just suggestions, so I went my own way with it. Unfortunately, upon cooking, the ricotta oozed out – but since I like the word “ooze”, I will pretend I don’t mind.

I also don’t have exact quantities here, but my method (as much as madness):

Ricotta filling
One container ricotta
Some grated Romano cheese
Salt
Pepper
Chopped fresh basil

Make small balls of the mixture and put them on a parchment-lined baking sheet – pop the sheet in the freezer for an hour.

frozen ricotta balls

Meatballs
Ground beef
1 or 2 eggs
Minced garlic
One chopped onion
Grated Romano
Panko crumbs
Salt
Pepper
Chopped fresh parsley

Mix the meatball stuff together.

Meatball mix

When the ricotta balls are ready/frozen, roll them into meatballs (small or large, your choice).

Ricotta-stuffed meatballs in the oven – pre-ooze

Put the meatballs in a parchment-lined baking dish and bake at 200-220C (about eight minutes on each side). If you’re lucky the ricotta will not explode right out the side.

I am going to cool these and freeze them for use at a later time.