INGREDIENTS
8 slices white sandwich bread
240 gr mozzarella
3 eggs
Flour
Salt
Vegetable oil for frying
Mozzarella in carrozza
Her Majesty Mozzarella just has to get to the banquet aboard her sparkling, romantic carriage. A gilded, crisp carriage made of sliced bread enclosing the precious creaminess of the mozzarella to bring to life a veritable gastronomic wonder!
ORIGINS
The recipe for mozzarella in carrozza is very old and, even though its origins are not entirely clear, it seems it was invented by housewives in Southern Italy as a recycling recipe to make use of a few days’ worth of leftover mozzarella and stale bread. The slices of bread are dipped in beaten egg and breadcrumbs and then delicately wrapped around the mozzarella.
This unusual sandwich is then fried in hot oil, drained and eaten piping hot with the stringy mozzarella ready to delight even the most high-brow tastes. With its inimitable taste, mozzarella in carrozza has won over Italians, and many others as well: today it is still prepared with the same few simple ingredients that guarantee unparalleled culinary success!
RECIPE
The recipe for mozzarella in carrozza is a simple one, but you should use a mozzarella that was not made the same day, so that it will have lost some of its internal milk. In addition, you’ll need to pay close attention when you turn over the mozzarella in carrozza in the frying pan, so that it holds together properly. With these two little tips, your mozzarella in carrozza will also be worthy of a royal ball!
PREPARATION
Place the mozzarella slices on paper towels so that they lose some of their excess milk. Use sandwich bread sliced 1 cm thick and cut the crusts off all sides. Place the mozzarella slices on 4 slices of bread, then cover with the other 4 bread slices, pressing down gently. Dip the edges of the rectangles into the flour and then in cold water: the sticky mix this creates will keep the mozzarella from leaking out during frying. Beat the eggs in a bowl and dip the rectangles of mozzarella in carrozza in the beaten egg. Make sure the bread absorbs as much egg as possible. Allow the “sandwiches” to sit in the beaten egg for 10 minutes on each side. Heat the oil in a pan and fry your mozzarella in carrozza until it is nicely browned and becomes crisp on the outside. Fry on both sides. Drain the mozzarella in carrozza and place on paper towels before serving them piping hot with a pinch of salt!
INTERESTING FACTS
Traditional recipes do not allow for variations, but if you like to be daring, you can stuff the bread not justwith mozzarella but also add a slice of hand-sliced smoked ham. Delicious!
