Fried Mozzarella Bites
Serve with Lemon Balsamic Rosemary Skewered Vegetables and Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms.
Ingredients
- Olive oil, for frying
- 1 pound ball fresh mozzarella, buy a wrapped piece, not one packed in water
- 1 pound fresh smoked mozzarella, found in the specialty cheese case
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup milk, eyeball it
- 2 cups Italian style breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan or Romano cheese
- 2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 8 stems or large sprigs each fresh parsley, sage, thyme
- Fine salt
Arrabiata - In A Hurry Dipping Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, moderate to hot heat level (eyeball the amount)
- 1 can crushed tomatoes (28 ounces)
- Coarse salt
- Bamboo skewers, 6-inch, or party picks, for dipping
Preparation
Heat 2 inches olive oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat. Cut each pound of mozzarella and smoked mozzarella into 16 cubes. Set up a breading station: flour, 2 eggs beaten with 1/3 cup milk, Italian breadcrumbs mixed with a couple of handfuls of grated cheese. Reserve the chopped parsley. Roll fresh plain mozzarella in flour, dip in egg, then coat in breadcrumbs. Bread all the plain mozzarella, then add chopped parsley to the breadcrumbs. Coat the cubed smoked mozzarella in flour, egg, then Italian bread crumbs mixed with parsley. The chopped parsley will allow you to distinguish between the fresh and fresh smoked cheese once fried. Place herbs into hot oil and fry 30 to 45 seconds. Be careful not to stand over pan, the oil will spatter a little because of the water content in herbs. Remove herbs with a slotted kitchen tool and transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Season immediately with fine salt. Fry the mozzarella bites in batches in a single layer. Cook until evenly deep golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and cool mozzarella bites on a paper towel-lined surface. Let stand and cool a few minutes so that the cheese will not be too runny when bitten into.
For dipping sauce, heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add EVOO, garlic and crushed pepper flakes. Sauté garlic and hot pepper 2 or 3 minutes, and add tomatoes. Season with salt.
To assemble your serving plate, pile mozzarella bites, alternating them with fried herbs. Set the dipping sauce in a bowl along side the balls and pile bamboo skewers or party picks on the edge of the plate to spear and dip the bites.
Add some mixed olives, celery sticks and long bread sticks to round out this finger food selection.
