Fried Goat Cheese Balls with mango dipping sauce

For all of the Bravoholics out there who cannot wait for the last installment of the Vanderpump Rules reunion, these Fried Goat Cheese Balls are perfect for your watch party! 

Keeping in theme for the VPR watch party, I’ll be making Lemon Roasted Garlic Swordfish using Pinot Grigio. Remember Stassi’s infamous quote, “I don’t know what I did to you, but I’ll take a pinot grigio,”? I think the swordfish pays homage to Princess Stassi wonderfully. I’m also making a Quick And Easy Fettuccine Alfredo even though, “It’s not about the pasta!”. Finally, a few Cosmopolitan Martinis will complete the menu and put us in the mood for a party. You could also just order yourself a couple of bottles of The Witches Of WEHO Potion No. 1 Pinot Grigio and settle in on your sofa to enjoy the visual trainwreck. This wine pairs deliciously with the goat cheese balls, and remember that the wine is made from ‘the tears of your exes”!

What’s The Story Behind Goat Cheese Balls?

Goat cheese balls are favorite among guests AND the servers at several of Lisa Vanderpump’s restaurants. You can’t blame them. Who wouldn’t become addicted to warm, creamy, oozing cheese and crispy, crunchy, fried crust?

After years of watching Vanderpump Rules and seeing somebody popping a goat cheese ball into their mouth, I’m left craving a fried goat cheese ball and desiring a trip to L.A. for an evening at SUR. Well, the L.A. trip isn’t happening anytime soon, but thanks to Lisa Vanderpump’s blog, Very Vanderpump, goat cheese balls are definitely in my future and your’s as well! We’ll all be “goat cheese ballin’”.

Sur serves their goat cheese balls on top of a bed of julienned veggies that are lightly dressed in mango sauce. It looks pretty, but I know for a fact that my girlfriends aren’t going to touch those veggies. Instead, I went straight for a spicy mango dipping sauce to serve on the side. I like to portion out the sauce for each person so ‘double dipping’ doesn’t become an issue.

Ingredients Needed

• Goat cheese – I used a log of plain goat cheese, but I think the garlic and herb or Italian tomato goat cheese would be delicious and add even more flavor (as if these little morsels need MORE flavor.).
• Eggs – helps to bind the crust to the cheese.
• Italian-style breadcrumbs – Very Vanderpump uses plain breadcrumbs, but I like the flavor of the Italian-style crumbs. Panko would add even more crunch if that’s your thing.
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• Canola oil for frying – you could use any vegetable oil with a high smoke point (not olive oil).
• Mango jam – the Sur recipe uses mango puree, but I like the sweetness that the jam adds. If you can’t find mango jam, apricot or peach will also work.
• White balsamic vinegar – White balsamic is milder in flavor and less sweet than traditional balsamic. It also doesn’t darken the mango sauce.
• Sriracha sauce – this adds just a bit of heat. Any hot sauce would work. If you don’t like spice, you can omit it.
• Olive oil – use good quality olive oil as you would in a salad dressing.
• Sour cream or mayonnaise – I used sour cream. You could also use Greek yogurt, but I found the sauce to be too thin when I used the yogurt.
• Parmesan cheese – please, please, please buy a piece of Parmesan and grate it yourself. The flavor is so much better than the pre-grated or pre-shredded stuff.
• Fresh parsley

Steps To Make This Recipe

1. Portion the goat cheese using 2 teaspoons of cheese for each ball.
2. Roll each piece into a ball.
3. Make a dredging station by whisking the eggs and egg yolks together in one bowl, then combining the breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper in another.
4. Dredge each cheese ball twice. Double dredging helps to ensure that the balls don’t split open and leak cheese while frying.
5. Freeze the balls for 1 hour.
6. Make the sauce by whisking together all of the sauce ingredients and set aside.
7. Fry the balls in batches, only removing as many balls from the freezer as you need for each batch, until golden brown. Keeping the balls frozen until you drop them into the fryer will keep them from splitting and leaking in the hot oil.
8. Plate the fried balls and garnish with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and minced parsley. Serve with the mango sauce on the side.