Cream Cheese Balls (Jewish)

Submitted by Sydney Mike

"This recipe, from The Essential Book of Jewish Festival Cooking, eventually surfaced in the Food Section of the 27 May 2009 issue of the Los Angeles Times."

 

• Ready In: 25mins
• Ingredients: 7
• Yields: 15 cheese balls
• Serves: 15

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon whole coriander seed
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cumin seed
• 1⁄2 teaspoon nigella seeds (or black sesame seeds)
• 1 cup cream cheese, chilled
• 1⁄8 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons pistachio nuts, toasted, finely chopped

directions

1. In a dry frying pan over medium heat, toast together the sesame, coriander, cumin & nigella seeds 3 to 4 minutes or until fragrant, stirring or shaking the pan often.
2. Grind the seeds with a mortar & pestle or process BRIEFLY in a coffee grinder (but not so long that the sesame seeds release a lot of oil).
3. Oil your hands to prevent the cheese from sticking, then roll the cheese into 1-inch balls & chill uncovered on a greased baking sheet.
4. In a small bowl, mix the sesame seasoning with the salt & chopped pistachio nuts, then roll the cheese balls in the mixture until well covered.
5. Serve immediately, or cover & chill on a wax-paper-lined baking sheet until ready to serve.

Reviews

[Lalaloula]

Mmm, what a wonderful bite-sized treat! The great flavour combinations and lovely presentation make this the perfect party food. But the recipe is also easy and quick, so what's not to love?! :)<br/>My sis and me had this with crudites as a light dinner and loved it. YUM!<br/>The only change I made was to use chopped pumpkin seeds in place of pistachios as I was out the latter. They added a nice earthy note.<br/>THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing this winner with us, Syd!<br/>Made and reviewed for PRMR Tag Game January 2012.

 

[Peter J]

Yum! The toasting of the spices along with not grinding them too much gives this a wonderful nutty / slightly crunchy texture on the outside which was great contrast against the cream cheese center. I used raw pistachios so toasted them whole along with the herbs and then ground them all together in the mortar.