Fried Mozzarella Sticks

I had the peanut oil out at lunch and, after cleaning up from our meal, took a nap to dream up things to fry in it.

Cheese! And, not just any cheese, but mozzarella.

We didn’t use all the pizza sauce on Friday’s sourdough cast iron pizza so that was our dipping sauce. Below is the basic recipe:

Pizza sauce – dashes of basil and oregano plus a sprinkle of salt in a small can of plain tomato sauce, heated in a saucepan over low heat. Taste after it is warmed and add more of whatever it is missing. If there is a metallic taste from the can, consider adding in a pinch of sugar.

You can definitely season the bread crumbs – as our sauce was flavorful, I didn’t but a little cayenne would have been tasty.

As Mom said of the fried cheese, “It is like a pizza melting in my mouth!”

8 oz Mozzarella cheese block
1 egg
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ bread crumbs
oil for frying – I used peanut

pizza sauce or marinara sauce

Cut the cheese block in half and then each half in six equal size pieces.

Place the flour in a pie plate. Scramble the egg in a shallow dish. Spread breadcrumbs in another pie plate. Coat the cheese sticks in flour, dredge in the egg and then coat with bread crumbs. Place them on a rack above a baking sheet.

Freeze for at least an hour or up to two.

Heat about a quarter inch of peanut oil or other neutral oil in a large skillet. Bring the oil to about 375 degrees F. Fry for about a minute each side or until golden brown.

Serve with warmed pizza or marinara sauce for dipping.