Pallotte – Cacio e Uova (Bread & Cheese Balls)
By Lee Jackson ↣ Published on: January 9, 2023
If ever there was a dish that epitomised Italy it’s Pallotte – Cacio e Uova – a life-changing creation from Abruzzo. Minimal ingredients—eggs, cheese and bread are masterfully combined to create something truly magical! Introducing the dish you’ve been waiting for…
Once in a while a dish comes along that utterly surprises you. Pallotte - Cacio e Uova is a humble dish that caught my attention on a menu in Italy. I'd never heard of it, so didn't expect all that much, but was blown away by this unassuming treasure. Bread, cheese and eggs are put to magnificent use in creating amazing and intensely flavourful cheese balls in a tangy tomato sauce. Think of it as a vegetarian meatball of sorts, but instead of trying to replicate meat, these pallotte have a unique cheesy flavour and perfect texture all of their own. They're my new favourite Italian treat!
What is Pallotte Cacio e Uova?
In the Abruzzo region of Italy, about 2 hours east of Rome lies the beautiful town of Pacentro. Perched precariously high on a mountainside, this peaceful town defies gravity and is listed as one of the most beautiful in Italy. It was very close to where I lived in Abruzzo, so I'd often visit one of my favourite restaurants, specifically to eat my most favourite Italian treat. Pallotte - Cacio e Uova are unique to Abruzzo and use humble, everyday ingredients.
Breadcrumbs, egg and Pecorino cheese are combined to form a dough that is formed into balls. These balls are then shallow fried. Finally, the they're simmered in a simple tomato ragù. The results are nothing short of miraculous! Soft, plump bread balls in a tangy tomato sauce. The cheese from the breadballs also makes its way into the sauce, creating an even more intense flavour. Perfection.
Why they work
They're easy - making these breadballs is really very easy.
They're intensely flavourful - These umami-laden bread balls are cheesy beyond your wildest dreams.
They're filling - Normally served as an appetiser, if you're not careful Pallotte will finish you off before the secondi course even arrives. That means they're great as a simple main course too.
Stuff you'll need
Like all the Greatest Hits of Italy, Pallotte Cacio e Uova use the bare minimum of ingredients. There are no extraneous flavours here, every ingredient is there for a reason, each equally pulling their weight.
- Bread - the backbone to the balls, they give the structure and texture that makes them so pleasing. Stale bread is ideal, with the crusts removed.
- Milk - This softens the stale bread, and creates the softest, pillowy texture. (you can use water too).
- Egg - The binding agent, eggs hold everything together and help give the softer, lightly chewy texture. 2 to 3 small eggs will bind the mixture - start with two and then if needed, add another.
- Cheese - The salty umami notes of pecorino cheese brings the flavour in bucketloads.
- Parsley - The only other ingredient is a little parsley for a light herbaceous note. It's not essential, but featured in most versions I tried in Abruzzo.
- Tomato Sauce - The sauce is easy - tomato passata, with a little garlic and basil for flavour (fished out at the end once it's done its magic).
Step by Step
Pallotte are really easy to put together, all you need are your hands to roll the soft dough into balls and then a quick shallow fry, then simmer.
- Step 1 - Soak the bread. Take off the crusts and discard. Cut the bread into chunks and then soak in a bowl with the milk for 20 minutes. Sqeeze out the milk from the bread and place in a bowl.
- Step 2 - Combine the ingredients. Add the cheese, eggs and parsley to the breadcrumbs and mix with your hands until you have a smooth dough.
- Step 3 - Form the balls. Roll the dough into small balls, around the size of a ping-pong ball.
- Step 4 - Fry the pallotte in the oil until nicely browned.
- Step 5 - Make the sauce. Fry the garlic in a little oil then add the tomato and basil. Cook for 8-10 minutes.
- Step 6 - Simmer the pallotte. Drop in the pallotte and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add a little water if the sauce dries up too much. Remove from the heat and serve!
Pro Tips to make your life easier
- For softer, more pillowy cheese balls, try not to overwork the mixture too much out they run the risk of becoming dense.
- You can roll and fry the Palotte up to a day in advance, the bread balls are surprisingly robust and hold up well to reheating in the sauce.
- You can switch up the cheese you use. A hard aged cheese is best, so try Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano or a combination of all three to see which is best.
Serving and suggestions
- Serve hot as an appetiser. I like to sprinkle over a little more parsley and a light dusting of pecorino cheese. In one Abruzzese restaurant, the pallotte were garnished with a wonderful grated semi firm and super salty goats cheese which just added more cheesy goodness to the mix.
- Serve with crusty bread to soak up the delicious leftover sauce.
- Serve alongside a simple rocket salad for a light lunch.
- Fridge: Palotte will stay fresh for 3-4 days in the fridge.
- Freezer: You can freeze leftover pallotte too, just ensure they are fully defrosted before heating gently in a pan or microwave. Add a little water to the sauce before reheating to ensure the sauce doesn't dry out.
Ready to get cooking?
Once you sample the delights of Pallotte Cacio e Uova you'll see what all the fuss is about. It's a crying shame that this dish is relatively unheard of, even in Italy. It's really one of my most favourite dishes of recent years, and so easy to make at home. Although it's a pretty new discovery, I'll be cooking this recipe for everyone for the foreseeable future - until they tell me to stop. Which is unlikely. Enjoy!
More delicious regional Italian recipes
If you liked this Abruzzese recipe for Cacio e Uova, you'll be sure to enjoy more of my favourite regional Italian recipes.
- Tuscan Beans with Pancetta & Cavolo Nero
- Pampanella Molisana (Paprika Roast Pork from Molise)
- Pasta with Potatoes (Pasta e Patate)
- Nduja Risotto
- Taralli Pugliesi
- Radicchio Salad with Pear, Walnut & Gorgonzola Dressing
- Radicchio Pasta with Guanciale, Gorgonzola & Walnuts
- Panzerotti (mini calzone pizza with tuna, olives & red pepper)
- Malloreddus (Gnocchetti Sardi) with Sausage Ragù
- Pasta with Walnut Sauce (Salsa di Noci)
- Paccheri Pasta with Neapolitan Ragù
- Spaghetti with Pesto Genovese
- Pasta Alla Gricia (Pasta with Guanciale & Pecorino Romano)
- Vitello Tonnato (Veal with Tuna & Anchovy Sauce)
- Peposo Alla Fornacina (Tuscan Beef & Black Pepper Stew)
- Orecchiette with Sausage & Broccoli Rabe
- Salmoriglio Sauce with Shrimp
- Bagna Cauda (Anchovy & Garlic Sauce)
Ingredients
For the pallotte
- 200 g bread (stale bread is best, weight with crusts removed)
- 1 cup milk
- 2-3 eggs (small sized)
- 2 cups pecorino cheese (finely grated)
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley (finely chopped)
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups canola oil (for frying)
For the sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 basil stem & leaves
- 14 oz tomato passata (400ml)(blended tomato)
- salt & pepper
Instructions
To make the pallotte bread balls
- Cut the bread into large chunks and place in a bowl Pour over the milk and press the bread down to submerge. Leave for 20 minutes to let the bread absorb the milk.
- After soaking, squeeze the milk out of the bread and place in a bowl. Discard the milk.
- Add the cheese, parsley and pepper, and using your hands, bring the mixture together to form a dough.
- Add one egg at actime and incorporate using your hands until fully mixed. The dough should be fairly wet, but still able to mould into balls without it falling apart. If it's still very stiff, add another egg.If your dough becomes too wet, blend up some regular slices of bread in a food processor into crumbs and add to the mix to firm it up a little. Different bread absorbs at different levels, so you may need a little trial and error to get it to the right consistency. It should easily roll and hold in balls.
- Take small portions of dough and roll into balls (about the size of a ping-pong ball) and arrange on a plate.
- Pour the oil into a medium sized pan heat over a medium heat until it's hot (around 250ºF/180ºC). A cube of bread should sizzle lightly.
- Add roughly 6 of the pallotte balls at a time to the oil. Fry for around 4 minutes, keeping the balls moving to ensure even frying. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a waiting paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Repeat this process with the remaining pallotte. Cover and set aside until needed. The pallotte will hold like this for a few hours.
To make the sauce
- In a deep sauté pan or saucepan, heat the oil until just hot, then fry the garlic for 30 seconds to flavour the oil. Add the tomato passata and basil leaves and about 1 cup water and bring to a simmer. Gently bubble for 8 minutes (uncovered) to reduce slightly. Add the balls to the sauce and stir gently to coat. Simmer them in the sauce for 10 minutes, uncovered, shaking the pan occasionally to turn. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little water. If it's too thin, turn up the heat to simmer off until thickened. It should have a consistency of double/whipping cream.Remove from the heat and serve hot with a little sauce, sprinkled with a little more grated cheese.
Notes
- Serve hot as an appetiser. I like to sprinkle over a little more parsley and a light dusting of pecorino cheese. In one Abruzzese restaurant, the pallotte were garnished with a wonderful grated semi firm goats cheese which just added more cheesy goodness to the mix.
- Serve with crusty bread to soak up the delicious leftover sauce.
- Serve alongside a simple rocket salad for a light lunch.
- Fridge: Palotte will stay fresh for 3-4 days in the fridge.
- Freezer: You can freeze pallotte too, just ensure they are fully defrosted before heating gently in a pan or microwave. Add a little water to the sauce before reheating to ensure the sauce doesn't dry out.
Nutrition
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One of my Italian friends recommended me to make it and enjoy and I was so lucky to find this brilliant instruction and recipe. I will make it tomorrow and let you know how it went. It looks tasty! Thank you so so much for your complete instructions + photos.
Thankyou. Hope you enjoy!
My pallotte balls stuck to base when frying . Any tips to stop this please. A great dish and different from the normal dishes.
Hi Cliff, sorry to hear that. Were you using a non-stick frying pan? The balls shouldn’t stick but might if the pan isn’t non-stick or is an older pan that may be losing some of its non-stickyness.
They might also stick to a cast iron skillet if it’s not seasoned well.
The pan may also have been a bit hot which could have made them stick more than they should.
I would suggest a newish non-stick pan or you could also try deep frying them in small batches until golden brown.
Hope this helps
Lee
Thanks Lee. I will try again with a non stick pan . I was using a cast iron skillet and I probably had the oil too hot.
I will try again next week, it was a great dish.
absolutely delish. nice swerve from the lamb or pork meatballs. and good tip with the not overmixing – very light. Felt like I was back in Italy again
Thank you!
I can’t look at this recipe too much, as I’ll inevitably eat an entire helping on my own! Glad you enjoyed!