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Cheese Bitterballen

Cheese Bitterballen

Cheese Bitterballen - delicious deep fried Dutch croquettes filled with cheese, crunchy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside!

Course Appetiser
Cuisine Dutch
Prep Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes
Servings 30
Author Manuela Zangara - adapted from The Daring Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 100 gms – ½ stick butter
  • 110 gms – ¾ cup flour
  • 500 ml – 2 cups milk
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • 3 sheets or 2 tsp gelatin I used 2 sheets only
  • 80 gms – 3 oz. aged cheese I used Parmigiano Reggiano
  • 80 gms – 3 oz. soft cheese like brie camembert or Nije kaas (I used camembert)
  • 80 gms – 3 oz. matured cheese I used provolone piquant
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 80 ml – 1/3 cup cream
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Eggs beaten
  • Flour
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Vegetable oil for deep frying

Instructions

  1. Grate the cheeses (and chop the soft cheese) and keep them aside.
  2. Put the butter in a big pot and melt it over a medium flame.
  3. Add the flour all at once and cook, while stirring, for another 3 minutes.
  4. Add the milk, whisk very well and let it come to a boil (keep stirring).
  5. Add the cheeses and cook at a high simmer for another 10 minutes.
  6. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Whisk the egg yolks with the cream and whisk into the cheese mixture.
  8. Dissolve the gelatine in a little cold water and add to the cheese mixture (if you are using sheets, soften them up in cold water for 5 minutes, then squeeze out the excess water and then add them to the warm cheese mixture).
  9. Spread the mixture onto a cold plate or oven dish, cover it with plastic wrap and let it cool for at least 2 hours (better if overnight) in the fridge.
  10. Make 30 balls with the cheese mixture and coat them in flour, then dip them in the beaten egg and roll them in breadcrumbs ensuring they are evenly coated.
  11. Place them on a plate and put them in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  12. Deep fry them in hot vegetable oil at a temperature of 180°C – 350°F for about 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown.
  13. Serve warm.

Recipe Notes

These Bitterballen can be frozen (before being fried) and stored for about 1 month. They can be fried from frozen by cooking them for a minute longer.