Recipe: Brazilian Cheese Bread Balls

We know it’s a bit hot to be baking in Singapore, but this recipe sounds fairly quick and easy. Brazilian expat ANDREA FERNANDES says, “These cheese balls are great anytime, whether it’s for breakfast or an afternoon snack. Try spreading cream cheese or butter on them for some extra flavour!” So, give it a go … and feel free to share a couple with us!

Makes approximately 50 balls

Ingredients

• 500g tapioca flour or tapioca starch
• 300ml (approximately 1.5 cups) milk
• 75ml oil
• 500g shredded Gouda or mozzarella cheese
• 500g Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon salt

Instructions

1. Combine milk, oil and salt, and bring to a boil.

2. Add tapioca flour into a bowl and combine with the milk-oil-salt mixture.

3. Wait for the mixture to cool slightly. Then put one egg into the mixture and some of the combined cheese mix. Repeat with the other egg and the remaining cheese.

4. By now it should be a sticky mass. Keep mixing with your hands. Tip: Use butter on your hands as you mix.

5. Mould small balls (about the size of an egg yolk, or bigger if you wish) out of the mix (and continue buttering your hands if you need to!).

6. Bake balls in pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for around 30 minutes – until the balls are a bit toasted and dark yellow on top. Tip: If you don’t want to cook them right away, you can freeze the balls and cook later.

Tip: “The Brazilian cheese bread balls are best eaten freshly baked. Otherwise, they can get chewy and lose their taste,” says Andrea.

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This article first appeared in the August 2019 edition of Expat Living. You can purchase a copy or subscribe so you never miss an issue!