Soft Garlic Herb Marinated Cheese ORBS OR Fried Garlic Herb Goat Cheese ORBS
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Yield: About 25 to 30 cheese orbs
 
If you're making the homemade chevre, naturally the prep and cook time listed will increase according to chevre directions linked above.
Turkish pide dough adapted from finedininglovers.com
Prep time does not include the chill time if you're making the deep-fried goat cheese orbs.
ingredients:
Spicy Garlic Herb Chevre (or Feta *) - For cheeseballs and/or pide filling.
  • 12 ounces fresh chevre. Cut chevre with cream cheese if you like, 6 oz each, or use all cream cheese, if you prefer, or make and use yogurt cheese aka labneh!
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced, then mashed to a paste with 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 small lemon, zested
  • 1 to 2 tablespoon red hot chile pepper flakes (you can add more or less depending on your heat tolerance)
  • 1 cup of chopped herbs of your choice. I used parsley, chives and basil
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • olive oil
  • Extra herbs for olive oil marinade for cheeseballs, Pack 'em in for even more flavor!
If you want to deep-fry them
  • ⅓ cup flour, seasoned with a little salt and pepper
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1¼ cups panko bread crumbs
  • enough oil to deep-fry the goat cheese orbs
directions:
  1. In a medium bowl combine all the garlic herb chevre ingredients thoroughly. Set aside, covered at room temperature to let the flavors blend while you make the dough. If you just want to make the soft cheeseballs in olive oil, refrigerate the cheese mixture until firm, covered, about 30 minutes, then roll into balls, about 1 to 2 inches in diameter and pack into jars with olive oil.
  2. Stuff more herbs of your choice and add extra red hot chile pepper flakes into the oil around the cheeseballs or cubes of feta *. and seal or cover tightly if using a bowl. Tap sealed jars on the counter to remove any air bubbles. I used 8 ounce ball jars. The cheese balls in olive oil will keep for a month in the refrigerator. Let come to room temperature for about an hour or more before serving.
For deep-fried goat cheese orbs
  1. In a medium bowl combine all the garlic herb chevre ingredients except the oil, thoroughly. Cover the bowl and put in the fridge for about an hour. While chilling, prepare your breading station. The flour, the beaten egg, and the panko bread crumbs.
  2. Remove goat cheese mixture from fridge, and roll into about 25 to 30 balls (about a tablespoon of the cheese should get you that). Roll each ball in the flour, then the beaten egg, then the panko breadcrumbs. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet as you bread them. When done, place the baking sheet with the breaded cheese orbs inthe fridge for about an hour, or the freezer for about 30 minutes.
  3. Heat about 3 inches of oil in a deep pot, to 350 degrees F. When it comes to temperature, remove the breaded goat cheese orbs from the fridge or freezer and deep fry two or three at a time, as you don't want to crowd the pot or skillet. Fry for about 1 or 2 minutes, or until golden brown on all sides. Remove and drain on a paper towel lined fine mesh rack over a baking sheet. Serve immediately.
notes:
*You can use my olive oil marinade to make marinated feta cheese cubes or yogurt cheese orbs (labneh), too! If using cubes of feta, infuse the olive oil with herbs and red pepper flakes (meaning add all to the olive oil prior to adding the feta cubes), then add the feta cubes and marinate in jars or a tightly wrapped bowl.
Recipe by parsley sage sweet at https://parsleysagesweet.com/2012/09/30/cheeseballs-and-cheese-filled-turkish-flatbread-for-cheesepalooza-plus-part-17/