Romanians are big fans of fried pork meatballs (‘chiftele’). To satisfy our carvings for tasty meatballs, but in a healthier way, I’ve made my recipe of fried fish balls – fish contain less fat and calories than pork.
Time: 50 min, Prep: 20 min. Cook: 30 min.
Servings: ~ 35-40 fish balls
Ingredients:
- 1 kg tilapia fillets (or any other fish, just remove bones and skin)
- 4-5 tablespoons chopped dill
- 2 medium-sized onions
- 1 egg
- 4-5 slices of bread
- 200 ml milk
- 4 tablespoons white flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper
You also need oil for frying the fish balls.
Directions:
Mince the fish fillets in a food processor. Dip the slices of bread in the milk to saturate the bread. Squeeze out the milk and mince the bread in the food processor as well.
Peel and finely chop the two onions. Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry onions for 3-4 minutes.
Combine fish, bread, onions, egg (beaten), 2 tablespoons flour and chopped dill. Mix well until mixture holds together and season with salt and pepper.
Shape into small balls and pass them through flour (remaining 2 tablespoons).
Fry fish balls in hot oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
Fish balls can be served by themselves, on a sandwich, with pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes to name a few.
Tips:
– Make sure the oil is hot before you put the fish balls in the oil; otherwise you will end up with greasy food.
– It’s better to use sunflower oil for frying since the olive oil can develop pretty terrible flavours if it reaches high temperatures.
