Celebrations, holidays, and slava season would not be complete without the first course, obligatory appetizer tray, or as it’s called in the Balkans predjelo or mezze. Predjelo is a combination of 2 words, pred (before) and jelo (food), so the word itself tells you it’s something you eat before food or the main meal. In gourmet prejelo platters, the meats, cheeses, and other goodies can greatly vary by region. One of those delicacies is Slane Kuglice/cheese balls, one of my favorite predjelo items.

Predjelo platters always contain a variety of cold cuts, cheeses, and smoked meats, in addition to hard-boiled eggs, kajmak (Balkan clotted cream), and sometimes savory rolls (similar to jelly rolls) as well as cheese balls. While the cold cuts and various meats aren’t as exciting to me, whenever I see something different like kuglice/cheese balls, I get very excited.

These cheese balls are great for a charcuterie board, appetizer displays, and any time you’d like something creamy with a few crackers. One of the wonderful things about this recipe is that it’s completely customizable, depending on what you like. This time, I made three different flavors, a little something for everyone.

The recipe amounts I’m sharing below yield between 8-12 cheese balls, depending on the size. You can make all of them one flavor, or you can split the base mixture into 2 or 3 equal parts and make a combination of flavors.

Looking for more appetizers? Check out the appetizer section!

Slane Kuglice za Predjelo/Mini Cheese Balls

Recipe by The Balkan HostessCourse: AppetizersCuisine: Balkan

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

A perfect quick and easy mini cheese ball recipe to compliment appetizer platters or any cheese board.

Ingredients

Base mixture
2 cups (200-300 g) feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup cream cheese (2 dobre kašike)
1 tablespoon sour cream, (1 kašika)
Salt, to taste
Toasted Sesame
2 tablespoons (16-20 g) toasted sesame seeds + additional for rolling
Bacon
2 tablespoons (20-30g) fried bacon, diced + additional for rolling
1 green onion, diced
Ham & Cheese
1-2 deli slices of ham, diced (1-2 lista)
1-2 deli slices of American cheese (1-2 lista)
Paprika for rolling (aleva paprika)

Directions

Mix the ingredients for the base mixture together. Salt to taste
If making more than one flavor, separate the mixture into 2 or 3 equal parts in separate bowls.
Add in the mix-ins according to which flavor you’re making.
Mix the ingredients together well and chill in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes so the mixture sets.
After 15-20 minutes, spoon out the mixture and roll into a ball. It will be slightly sticky.
Roll each cheese ball into the topping of your choosing or according to the flavor above.
Chill the cheese balls until ready to serve.

Notes

My favorite combination is just plain sesame, but the green onion in the bacon version really provides a great fresh taste and breaks up the rich creamy flavor of bacon and cheese.

Make sure you’re following me on Instagram so you don’t miss a recipe as well as surprise giveaways!