This snack is visually great and tastes as good as it looks. The crisp golden mozzarella sticks are served alongside a mouth-watering sauce and make a fantastic light lunch or starter.
Ingredients
For the mozzarella
- 4 thin slices of white bread, no crusts
- 3-4 finely chopped basil leaves
- ½ cup (125 ml) of milk
- 9 oz (250 g) of mozzarella
- 2 beaten eggs
- Oil – for frying
For the Sauce
- 1 lb (400 g) tin of Italian whole tomatoes
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) of virgin olive oil
- Optional ½ mild onion or ginger, chopped finely
- ½ cup (125 ml) white wine
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml) dried oregano
- Handful of coarsely chopped basil leaves
How to Make It
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To make the Sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the optional onion or ginger for a minute on a medium heat.
- Add the tomatoes to the pan, then the wine and oregano and bring to the boil. Now reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Set aside and cool slightly.
- Add the sauce to a blender or food processor, season with salt and pepper. Pulse for a few seconds, taking care not to completely liquidise the mix. Now add the basil leaves to the sauce mix.
- Gently toast both sides of the bread slices, then crumble into fine breadcrumbs. Mix the breadcrumbs with the beaten eggs and set aside.
- Cut the mozzarella into finger size sticks, season with salt and pepper and coat with the breadcrumb mix.
- Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer and when hot, deep fry the coated mozzarella sticks for about 4 minutes until crisp and golden. Drain the sticks on kitchen paper. To Serve
- Heat the sauce and serve as a side dipping dish. Place the fried mozzarella sticks on a serving dish and eat immediately.