Italian Stuffed Fried Eggs | Authentic Calabrian Recipe

These stuffed, fried eggs are an absolutely delicious appetizer and will have you coming back for more. Don't be turned off by the frying, they're actually quite simple to make!

Italian Stuffed Fried Eggs Recipe

Watch the Pasta Grammar video were we made this recipe here:

Serves 8

For this recipe, you will need:

- 7 eggs

- 250g / 90z. ricotta

- Parmigiano-Reggiano to taste (about 1/2 cup, more on this later)

- Black pepper

- Salt

- All-purpose flour for breading (about 1 cup)

- Bread crumbs for breading (about 1 cup)

- Vegetable oil for frying

Begin by hard boiling 4 eggs. The eggs will be easier to stuff if they're slightly on the overcooked side, so we recommend covering them with water in a small saucepan, bringing to a boil, cooking for 13 minutes, then draining and running under cold water.

Shell the eggs and cut each in half. Scoop out the yolks into a mixing bowl and set aside the intact whites for later.

Add the ricotta cheese and Parmigiano to the yolks. The amount of Parmigiano needed will vary according to the consistency of the ricotta. You want a mixture that is firm enough to mold into the eggs. A wetter ricotta will require more Parmigiano than a drier ricotta. We recommend about a cup of grated cheese but adjust accordingly!

Add 1 egg, a generous sprinkle of black pepper, and a pinch of salt into the ricotta (keep in mind that the Parmigiano is salty, so adjust salt to taste). Mix thoroughly.

Spread the flour and breadcrumbs each onto a flat plate. Crack the remaining two eggs onto a plate and whisk them thoroughly with a fork.

Take each egg white and fill the hollow with enough ricotta mixture to "reconstruct" a whole egg. The stuffed egg should resemble a whole egg but half made of cheese mix.

Dip and dust each egg in flour, then in the whisked eggs, then in the breadcrumbs. Set aside on a plate. If you desire a thicker breading, you can repeat these steps again for each egg.

Fill a small, deep saucepan with enough vegetable oil to completely cover the eggs. Bring up to a high temperature on the stovetop. No thermometer necessary: to see if the oil is hot enough, drop a small breadcrumb in. When it bubbles furiously, the oil is ready!

Working in small batches or one at a time, carefully drop each egg into the oil. The cheese mixture is fragile, so we recommend avoiding to stir them as much as possible. Fry until golden brown, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper towel-lined dish.

Serve warm. Buon appetito!