Updated: Aug 22, 2021
Inspired by:
This went the way of The Great Muffin Debacle and Gluten Free Rice Balls DISASTER! For some funny and odd stories, yes, this Ricotta Ball Soup story will be funny one day too, click the green link.
Well, I'm still learning new tricks. Practice makes perfect. I have an idea on how to try this again and not make mush. See below for what I think went wrong and what I'm going to try.
Everything we do involves food. Food - It's the heart of all we do! So, I will perfect the Ricotta Ball soup one way or another. I already have some ideas running through my head. For more life stories and inspiration, click green link. Above is the rehearsal brunch for my son's wedding last Saturday.
Below is what I did. I didn't put up the video, because, well, why?
I put the ricotta into cheese cloth and placed into a colander over a bowl in the fridge as it was very wet. I let it drain approximately four hours.
Wash, peel and grate carrots. Chop onion. Fill the bottom of a soup pot with oil. Sauté vegetables adding some salt until soft. Cook on medium heat, stirring often.
Pour in vegetable broth and water. Allow to simmer, covered so it doesn't evaporate.
How to make Ricotta Balls:
Peel, wash and boil your potatoes until very soft.
Mash with masher tool. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl combine Ricotta, Parmesan, gluten free bread crumbs (I ground mine to make them finer), parsley, salt and cooled mashed potatoes (a sticky substance to replace eggs since I'm allergic) Mix until well combined.
Roll mixture into small balls and place on a dish.
Bring your liquid to a boil. Then lower to a medium heat. Gently place the ricotta balls into the liquid. Do not stir them. Once all the balls are in the liquid, cover the pot and lower heat to a simmer. Allow to simmer about 30 minutes.
Add your spinach just on top, don't mix. Cover and cook about another five minutes until spinach is completely cooked.
WHAT WENT WRONG:
I think there were two issues working together here to cause disaster. The first - gluten free products. They are different and react differently. The second - I Googled how to replace eggs. I know many methods for baking, but I wasn't sure what to use in this recipe. When I saw that eggs are replaced with mashed potatoes in the cheese for lasagna, I thought, wow, what a great idea. I'll mix the ricotta with mashed potatoes. Except, lasagna is baked. Putting mashed potato mixture into liquid is totally different.
My mush on the left above. What it should look like on the right. Yeah... I know - total disaster.
Because I got a pot of mush, I never added the spinach.
WHAT I'M GOING TO TRY NEXT TIME:
I'm thinking I should cook the ricotta balls in the air fryer and add to the soup last minute. We'll see if it works.
Ingredients:
Broth:
3 cups vegetable broth (gluten free)
1 cup water
Olive oil
1 large grated carrot
1 chopped onion
1 cup spinach (I used fresh and added by eye, but you can use thawed frozen if you like)
Salt to taste
Ricotta Balls:
3 cups Ricotta cheese
3/4 cups Parmesan cheese
Fresh chopped parsley
1 cup Potatoes (mashed) or 3 eggs if you can eat them
2 cups bread crumbs
Pinch of salt