by Nandita 5/21/2021

Fried Mozzarella w/ Arabiata Ketchup

I sometimes buy Mozzarella with the intention of making a pizza or using it as a topping for my spicy Korean noodles or pasta. Somehow, I always forget it and then it’s overdue. This time, I was right on time (it was 1-day overdue) and I thought to myself let’s just fry the whole thing and have it with a salad for dinner. But then the thought of a whole fried mozzarella put me off (I know I’m weird) and I decided to slice, coat and fry it. It was one of the best decisions of my life ;-)
Cheesy fried goodness, what else?

Cheesy fried goodness, what else?

This Fried Mozzarella is easy to make, perfect as a snack and you can easily serve this bad boy at parties with my super simple Arabiata Ketchup (storbought Arabiata sauce mixed with your fave ketchup). Snacks don’t have to be complicated (we have life for that) and trust me you’ll thank me later for this one!

>>Another cheesy winner on my blog is this Truffle Grilled Cheese! It's stuffed with cheese, mushrooms and truffle tapenade.

Fried Mozzarella w/ Arabiata Ketchup

  • Prep: 10 min
  • Total: 35 min
  • Vegetables

Ingredients

- 1 maxi mozzarella from Galbani (slice it and pat it dry)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Italian dried herbs
- ½ tsp Pimenton
- 1 egg
- ½ cup of flour
- 1 cup of Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 ½ cup of oil for frying
- salt & pepper to taste

For the sauce:
- 4 tbsp ketchup
- 1 ½ tbsp Arabiata (mine was from Albert Heijn, Excellent)
Or use a Marinara/homemade pasta or tomato sauce.

For garnish:
- fresh or dried parsley

Instructions

  1. Slice the mozzarella in 8 pieces and pat each piece dry (you will smash the mozzarella a bit, but that’s ok, just don’t break it completely).

  2. Then season the mozzarella slices with garlic powder, Italian herbs, Pimenton and salt & pepper on both sides.

  3. Run the mozzarella pieces through the flour, egg and Panko and repeat this process twice (skip the flour the second time) to get a good crust. This will protect the cheese from oozing out. You can also shape the patties a bit.

  4. Fry the mozzarella until golden brown and season with salt & pepper. Then garnish with dried/fresh parsley and serve with the sauce. Enjoy immediately and don’t burn your mouth!

    TIPS:
    - Cut the mozzarella into strips to get fries.
    - Make a mozzarella burger and serve it on a bun with some lettuce, tomato slices and the sauce.

    If you make my recipes please tag me in them and use #thespicedchickpearecipes. I'd love to see what you've made