Meatless Pecorino Meatballs

• 8 large eggs
• 3 cups fine dry bread crumbs
• 3 cups freshly grated pecorino (or half pecorino and half Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano, for a milder flavor)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil (about 20 large leaves)
• 2 plump garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 cup vegetable oil, or more as needed
• 2 batches (6 to 7 cups) Tomato Sauce (page 385)
• Fresh basil leaves for garnishing
• A heavy-bottomed high-sided skillet or saute pan, 12-inch diameter or larger, for frying; a heavy saucepan, 6-quart capacity or larger, for finishing the polpettine in sauce

1. Beat the eggs well in a large mixing bowl.
2. Heap the bread crumbs, grated cheese, salt, chopped basil, and garlic on top of the eggs, and mix everything together well, first with a big spoon or spatula and then with your hands.
3. The dough should come together in a soft mass, leaving the sides of the bowl.
4. If it is very sticky, work in more bread crumbs a bit at a time.
5. Break off tablespoonful pieces of dough, and one by one roll them in your palms into a smooth ball.
6. Place the polpettine on a board or tray covered with wax paper or parchmentyou should get about sixty balls total.
7. Pour 1/8 inch oil into the skillet, and set over a medium flame.
8. When the oil is hot enough that a test ball starts sizzling on contact, lay in as many polpettine as will fill the pan with clear space around themyou should be able to fit in twenty or thirty.
9. Adjust the heat so the oil stays hot and the rounds are sizzling and browning nicely but not burning.
10. Turn them frequently, so they fry on all sides.
11. When the balls are evenly browned and crispy, lift them from the pan, let the oil drip back in for a moment, then lay them on paper towels to drain.
12. Fry all the polpettine in batches this way, adding more oil as needed.
13. As a snack or hors doeuvre, serve each freshly fried batch while hot and crispy.
14. To finish and serve polpettine with tomato sauce, heat 6 cups of the sauce to a simmer in the big saucepan.
15. Drop in all the balls, and return the sauce to a simmer, gently turning the polpettine so all are submerged and coated.
16. Cook for about 5 minutes, or just until the polpettine are heated all the way through.
17. Immediately spoon out the balls in portions: Heap ten or so in warm pasta bowls, with sauce on top, for main-course servings; garnish with a sprinkle of grated cheese and a basil leaf.
18. As a first course, serve four to six polpettine on plates, in a pool of sauce.
19. Or pile all the balls up high in a deep platter to share them family-style.
20. Sprinkle cheese over the top, and serve right away.
21. A note of advice: Keep in mind that the longer the polpettine stay in the sauce the more they will absorb it and become softquite delicious, but delicate to handle.
22. Plan to serve them as soon as they are heated through.
23. If theyve soaked up most of the sauce in this timeor if your guests are lateheat up about 1 cup more, spoon it over the polpettine, or pass it at the table.

eggs, bread crumbs, freshly grated pecorino, kosher salt, fresh basil, garlic, vegetable oil, batches, fresh basil, skillet

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/meatless-pecorino-meatballs-372333 (may not work)