For the Tomato Sauce: In a 5-quart Dutch oven, combine olive oil and garlic and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until garlic just begins to turn very lightly golden. Stir in olives and capers and cook until just heated through, about 45 seconds. See, don't these look like just regular out of a can black olives? The kalamatas were great for what it was worth. 

Stir in canned tomatoes and their juices, thyme, oregano, and white pepper. Using a wooden spoon, break up tomatoes until large chunks. Season lightly with salt, then bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring often, until sauce has darkened and thickened to a chunky texture, about 45 minutes. Transfer sauce to a heatproof container and set aside. Wash and dry Dutch oven. Side note - I used two separate pots....maybe that is why I am complaining about dishes and my kitchen looking like a hurricane.

Meanwhile, for the Ricotta Balls: In a large mixing bowl, combine ricotta, Pecorino Romano, half the parsley (I hated this direction because half of 3/4 cup of parsley is not a measurement easily found on a measuring cup grrrr), lemon juice and zest, 1 teaspoon white pepper (I used black pepper because that is what I had and I am confident it did not destroy my sauce), and nutmeg, and stir until thoroughly combined. Season generously with salt. I love me some salt, but with kalamata olives I would recommend you go a little less generously with the salt. Add flour, and, using a clean hand, knead into ricotta mixture until a moist but not sticky ball forms; mix in more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary. Ok, so this is where my shape failure may have started to occur. Seeing as I didn't know truly what the desired consistency was I added the 3/4 cups of flour and didn't add anymore hoping for the desired result and I think my ricotta mixture was a little soft for ball shaping (pun intended). Let stand 5 minutes.

This is my texture comparison photo - thoughts? How did I do?

In a small mixing bowl, stir together breadcrumbs with remaining parsley, remaining 1/2 teaspoon white pepper, and a large pinch of salt. Place beaten egg in a second small bowl.

Comparison photo - think I went a little parsley crazy, however think it tasted good. 

Using lightly moistened hands, roll ricotta mixture into golf ball–size balls (about 50g each). Transfer balls to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Just so you know there was absolutely no point in this process that my hands ever looked this clean - wish I would have taken a comparison photo of my gooey reality hands. 

In case you needed another comparison photo to help you feel better about yourself, this is the closest I got to "ball shaped."

Hold a ricotta ball in your left hand and gently roll it in the beaten egg to coat. Lift ball, allowing excess egg to drip off, then gently set in breadcrumb mixture. Using your right hand, gently roll the ball in the breadcrumb mixture to evenly coat; you may need to lightly press breadcrumbs into ricotta ball to ensure they adhere. To begin with this right hand and left hand instruction cracked me up. I know it was trying to keep me from contaminating my egg and my breadcrums, but let's be real my bowls were a mess, my counter was a mess, my hands were a mess, and at the end of the day you are dousing your balls in sauce anyway so who cares what they look like. Return to parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining ricotta balls.

In a 5-quart Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat until shimmering (a ricotta ball should being to lightly sizzle when lowered into it). Working in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pot, fry ricotta balls, rotating every 1 to 2 minutes, until evenly browned all over, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spatula, transfer fried ricotta balls to a paper towel–lined tray. I also had to use some tongs, a slotted spoon and the counter to herd these balls. 

Here is yet another comparison pic relating to shape. Just setting realistic expectations here. 

Add sauce to olive oil in Dutch oven, stirring to combine. Bring to a simmer, then gently nestle fried ricotta balls into sauce, shaking pan gently to coat balls in sauce. Simmer gently until ricotta balls are heated through and their fried coating has absorbed some of the sauce, about 10 minutes. Coat evenly with Parmigiano-Reggiano, allow to melt slightly in the heat, then serve.