Fried Guacamole

 Fried Guacamole

    This is adapted from a recipe which was posted recently on Delish.com.  If you'd like to see there version or for other recipes, check them out. For a short cut, use pre-made guacamole in a spiciness level you prefer. Store bought should work just the same. If you make your guacamole from scratch, like I did, you can add spicier jalapeno if you like and more or less, tomato, onion, jalapeno, cilantro. 

    To make your guacamole homemade, mash together avocados with a tablespoon of lime juice, using a fork or pastry cutter/butter creamer tool (it should be mostly creamy, some little chunks are totally fine). My pastry cutter/butter creamer tool worked perfectly for me, because my avocados were really nice ripe (soft). Add chopped tomato, onion, cilantro and jalapeno to taste, followed by salt, pepper and minced garlic. Use a spoon or cookie scoop (this is what I used) to form balls of guacamole, placing them on a plate and freezing them for 20 minutes. While your balls are in the freezer, crush tortilla chips to a powdery consistency and set aside in a bowl. Some larger pieces are okay, but you're not going to want those pieces on your balls. I just mean "don't beat yourself up making your crumbs perfect". Heat your oil to I don't know what temperature exactly it was, but when I tested a little bit of tortilla chip to see if the oil was hot enough, it fried right up. Not an official method by any stretch of he imagination, but you use what you have to make sure the oil gets all bubbly when you drop whatever it is you're frying into it. Also make an egg wash in a separate bowl. I used two eggs and a little bit of water. Set your egg wash next to your dish of tortilla crumbs/powder.

    Remove your guacamole balls from the freezer. Roll your balls one at a time in the tortilla chip powder/crumbs, then the egg wash and then the tortilla chip powder/crumbs again. Place each ball on a plate. Repeat the process until you either run out of guacamole or you've made as many as you want to make (like I did). Use a large, slotted, metal spoon to lower two balls at a time into your hot oil  (I only had four balls in my hot oil at any one time.  You don't want to crowd them.).  Fry until crispy on the outside and as golden as you'd like and remove to a plate with paper towels to cool and sprinkle with a little bit of salt (I used Chipotle sea salt). Sprinkle with lime juice if you like. 

    At the end, I decided to fry up hush-puppy style, the rest of the tortilla powder/crumbs. I just mixed the rest of the egg wash into the powder/crumbs and fried them just like I had the guacamole balls. These would be fabulous dipped in queso. 

    The verdict? I liked these guacamole balls.  They'll be best fresh, as most fried foods are best, fresh. I put several in an airtight container in my fridge after taste testing a few, because I just can't eat all of them. The balls are crispy on the outside and soft/creamy on the inside, because remember, it is guacamole. Serving suggestion: Serve in a bowl drizzled with salsa as I did or a side of salsa. I actually used green sriracha sauce and really liked it. Would I make these again? Yes, but I would definitely make less if it was just myself. I used 8 avocados and addition to leftover balls, I have a ton of guacamole left. 

Ingredients:

Guacamole (Recipe below)

Tortilla chips

Egg

Oil

Guacamole Ingredients:

8 Avocados (ripe) mashed

1 cup Pico de Gallo (diced tomato, jalapeno, onion and cilantro)

1 tbsp Lime Juice

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Pepper

1/2 tsp Garlic, minced

Mmmm. Guacamole Balls with green sriracha drizzle. 

Mash avocado with lime juice.

Stir in pico de gallo. 

Shaped balls, ready to freeze.

Shaped and coated balls, ready to fry.

Cooling fried guacamole balls.

Plain tortilla balls, which would be fab dipped in salsa or queso. 

Cheese Balls (Fried Appetizer)

 Cheese Balls 

    This fried Cheese balls recipe comes to us from a 1947 edition of The American Woman's Cook Book.  It's super easy to make.  I started by heating my oil to 375 degrees in a large pan like you'd use to cook noodles, soup or chili, etc. You could use an electric fryer as well and this may even work in an air fryer. That would be interesting to try and see how these turned out using an air fryer. 

    So, all you do is mix your shredded cheese, flour, salt and pepper, fold in 1 stiffly beaten egg white and tada! You are ready to shape balls and drop them into the fryer. I used my regular cookie scoop and it made the perfect sized balls.  Gently drop your cheese balls into the hot oil and cook until they are browned. Flip them at least once to ensure all sides are browned, before removing to drain on a paper towels. They cook very, quickly, so keep an eye on them. I cooked about 4 or 5 at a time and that worked fine for me. 

    I got 12 nice, sized cheese balls with my cookie scoop, which is exactly what the recipe says you'll get. I did have 1 extra ball, which was like the runt of my cheese balls. After I removed the balls to drain/dry on the paper towels which I'd laid in my favorite 13x9 pan, I sprinkled them with a little salt. When I finished frying the balls, I made sure to turn off the oil, because as handsome as some firefighters are, you don't want to have to call the fire department because of a kitchen mishap with your cooking oil. 

    Is there anything I would do different? Yes.  I would either use less salt in the recipe and/or not sprinkle salt on top of the finished balls, because they did taste too salty for me. That is the only thing I would really do different. I dipped some of my cheese balls in La Costena "Ranchera Salsa", which is made with tomatillos and mixed chili peppers. It is really good, and the cheese balls tasted amazing dipped in the salsa.  This recipe makes at least 12 balls, so if you're making them for several people, you'll want to double it. I'm excited about how you could change this up. Use different seasonings instead of salt and pepper. Do Italian seasonings and then dip your finished product in pizza/spaghetti sauce. Love garlic? Use garlic powder. Do you like jalapenos? You could add up to a tablespoon of fresh, finely chopped jalapenos or pickled jalapeno slices.  I'm just guessing, but I think the jalapenos would work as long as you don't add too much. And, how could I forget chipotle? I love chipotle and if you do also, you could put chipotle power in the cheese balls and I bet it would be amazing!!

    As always, if you try this, let me know what you think.