These Ricotta Strawberry Cheese Balls Will Change Your Dessert Game Forever

Almost four years ago, on a tough summer afternoon after lunch, which included mashed potatoes, I made gnocchi and served them sweet, with apricots. Kind of like dumplings, but more practical and sweeter. Since then, I repeat this dish often, mostly when I crave dumplings but don‘t have time to prepare them. Just the other day, I thought of them again, but since apricots aren‘t in season yet, I decided to play around and make them with strawberries.

Lidija Lončarić/

As it usually happens, my brain went in a new direction and today I‘m bringing you a recipe for even faster and even sweeter cheese balls with strawberries and pistachios, just to satisfy the current hype. So, with these balls you don‘t need to wait for potatoes to cook, just simply make a dough from ricotta, strong flour, and egg yolk, cook, be sure to roll them in breadcrumbs, and serve with stewed strawberries. The great thing about this recipe is that you can also make larger balls from the dough and fill them with strawberries, just like real dumplings, but I was too lazy for that. And, actually, I‘m glad I was, because this dish turned out so good and effective that at first glance it might even put you off because you‘ll think it‘s too complicated. Well, it‘s not! Preparation will take you about 30 minutes and once you try it, you‘ll completely forget about classic dumplings, mark my words.

strawberry dumplings, for a bite, good food, Lidija Lončarić

CHEESE BALLS WITH STRAWBERRIES

You will need:
200 g ricotta cheese
1 egg yolk
100 g strong flour (plus extra for the surface)
salt
100 g breadcrumbs
100 g butter
2 handfuls pistachios
1 scoop of strawberries
2 tablespoons brown or white sugar (or other sweetener as desired)
vanilla, lemon juice, basil, other spices as desired
Preparation:
Knead a soft dough from the ricotta, egg yolk, flour, and a pinch of salt. Transfer to a surface dusted with extra flour and shape into a log. Cut into equal pieces (or, like me, don‘t stress about it too much) and shape into balls with lightly floured hands. Cook them in boiling salted water. When you put them in the pot, melt the butter in another pan and let it brown lightly. When the gnocchi float to the surface, add them to the butter. Toss to coat. If desired, add a little sugar and breadcrumbs and mix everything well so the gnocchi are completely coated. In another pot, stew the strawberries with vanilla, lemon juice, and you can also add a little basil. When you‘re done with the gnocchi, transfer them to plates, and in the same pan lightly toast the pistachios, chop them, and serve the gnocchi with strawberries, sprinkled with pistachios.