Lavaneh ~ Cheese Balls in Olive Oil

[rebbetzin]

Today I tried a Middle Eastern Recipe for making Cheese Balls.

It is really easy!

After making the cheese, drain off the whey, put curds in cheesecloth or cotton cloth,
squeeze out remaing whey.
Add salt, squeeze out more whey, save some of this whey.
Put cheese in food processor, whirl until curds are gone and cheese is smooth.
(you may need to add back a tiny bit of the whey, if the curds don't get smooth enough.)

I used a small scoop, like an ice cream scoop, but much smaller, to form the cheese and
put on a cookie sheet lined with plastic wrap.

I put the balls in the fridge for about 10 minutes. Then rolled them into smooth balls.

While the balls were in the fridge I warmed up the olive oil, not hot, just warm about 90 degrees.
Then added Rosemary, garlic, and two sliced Thai Dragon peppers for some color, but it gives a bit of "heat" too.

There were enough balls to fill a quart jar. (well, I ate about 4 of them that were left over!)
And here was the resulting jar.

I am going to keep it in the fridge to absorb all the flavors for about a week. I hope it won't get "goaty" tasting.

 

[journey11]

That makes a really nice presentation in the jar too. Perhaps it will make a good gift idea? I read an article online the other day about preventing any "goaty" off-flavor. They said it was all about keeping the milk very cold. Maybe it will work for your cheese too?

 

[so lucky]

Hey, Rebbetzin! Haven't seen you in a while! Those cheese balls look so pretty in the jar.

 

[ninnymary]

rebbbetzin, it's good to see you back. I've missed you. How long will the cheese last this way? Assuming of course that you don't eat it all in one sitting!

Mary

 

[rebbetzin]

I have been a very busy person the past few months. As of Dec. 31,
my husband is retired. He is in school full time to become a certified
Paralegal. If he enjoys it he is considering going to Law School,
we have a good one here at the U of Arizona.

But... he is a bit old (56) to be starting a new career.

I was invited by a local Church last week to come teach the ladies on
the Shabbat/Sabbath, and the importance of taking time to REST and
hand down our faith/traditions to the next generation.

It was called the "Souper Bowl" all the ladies brought a soup
and recipes to share. Plus Breads and desserts and salads.
I thought it was a great idea, the room was decorated in a
Football theme.

I had butterflies, but... it went very well,
(or so I am told by those attending!)

Here are a few pix from the event.

The ladies all seated.

Me, saying something funny... I was able to make them laugh, and there were some tears too.

Explaining things used for Shabbat Dinner.

So, that is what I have been up to lately, it is good to be back up here.
I am hoping after the hard freeze last week, that my lemon tree comes back
and my new Cup and Saucer vines!! Oh and I had a quite lovely Chayote
Squash Vine that I also hope will survive. Right now they look pretty bad!

 

[rebbetzin]

rebbbetzin, it's good to see you back. I've missed you. How long will the cheese last this way? Assuming of course that you don't eat it all in one sitting!

Mary

Not sure how long it will last... I plan to take it to Nosh next week, and test it out on the congregation.
My fear is it will go goatie... I HATE that taste!! Some people don't mind it, so, if it goes goatie, I will
give it to them. I am thinking it ought to last a month at least.