Fried Mozzarella Pockets Recipes

FRIED MOZZARELLA PUFFS

Steps:

• Combine water, butter, and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer; pour in flour all at once and reduce heat to medium. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until a dough starts coming together. Cook, scraping up and stirring the dough, for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat; transfer dough to a mixing bowl. Let cool until no longer hot but still very warm, 5 to 10 minutes. Add egg and season with cayenne and freshly ground black pepper. Whisk vigorously until mixture combines into a very soft, sticky dough. Switch to a spatula and scrape dough into a ball.
• Seal dough and spatula with plastic wrap and refrigerate in the bowl until cool, about 1 hour.
• In the meantime, season marinara sauce with oregano, red pepper flakes, balsamic vinegar in a small pot over medium heat. Add anchovy fillet. Stir together and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 10 minutes; turn off heat and let sit until ready to use.
• Grate mozzarella cheese over the dough and stir to combine.
• Heat oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) in a deep fryer or heavy-duty pan over medium heat. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (93 degrees C) or any temperature for keeping warm.
• Scoop out about 2 tablespoons of dough per puff and form into a football shape using two spoons. Fry puffs, 5 or 6 at a time, in the hot oil until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Keep puffs warm in low oven while frying the rest. Serve with hot marinara sauce.

FRIED MOZZARELLA STICKS

Steps:

• Cut the mozzarella into approximately 2-1/2-by-1/2-inch sticks (you should have about 16 sticks, depending on the shape of your mozzarella).
• Put the flour in a small bowl. Beat the milk with the eggs in another bowl. Stir together the breadcrumbs and Parmesan in a third wide, shallow bowl.
• Working one at a time, coat a mozzarella stick in flour and shake off the excess. Dip the stick in egg, letting the excess drip off, then add it to the breadcrumbs and roll it to coat. Dip the stick in the egg one more time, again letting the excess drip off, and roll it in a final coat of breadcrumbs. You can pat the mozzarella stick gently between your hands to smooth out the coating. Transfer the coated mozzarella stick to a platter. Repeat with the remaining mozzarella sticks. Refrigerate the mozzarella sticks until cold, about 15 minutes.
• Heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F. Have a large brown paper bag ready for the fried sticks (they will stick to paper towels). Add half of the mozzarella sticks and fry, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, about 1 minute total. Transfer to the paper bag to drain. Return the oil to 350 degrees F (this is important, as the cheese will seep out if it is not hot enough) and fry the remaining mozzarella sticks.
• Serve hot with Homemade Pizza Sauce on the side.
• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the oregano, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the garlic is golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, basil and 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, with the saucepan loosely covered in foil to avoid splattering and stirring occasionally, until fairly thick, 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your tomatoes. Remove the basil.

FRESH MOZZARELLA, TOMATO AND OLIVE PIZZA POCKETS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except dough.
• Divide dough into four equal pieces; roll each piece into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll one ball into a 7-inch round. Mound 1/4 of the filling on half the dough. Fold other dough half over the filling and pinch edges together to seal. Transfer pocket to prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
• With a sharp knife, cut several slits in top of each pastry. Bake pockets until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

FRIED MOZZARELLA STICKS

Steps:

• Cut the cheese into 8 3 1/2/x 1/2x1/2" sticks.
• Put flour into shallow dish and dredge the mozzarella sticks lightly in flour, shaking off the excess.
• One by one, dip in the beaten egg, coating completely, and then roll in bread crumbs to coat.
• Put the sticks on a plate and freeze for 15 minutes.
• Heat a deep fryer or heavy pot to 365 in 3 inches of oil.
• Fry the mozzarella sticks in 2 batches until golden brown, about 1 minute.
• Drain on paper towels and serve with hot marinara sauce.

FRIED MOZZARELLA POCKETS

Steps:

• Cut the mozzarella into 12 chunks; place each chunk on one half of a bread slice and fold the other half over the top.
• (Add any other filling ingredients with the cheese, if desired.) Press edges together to seal.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.
• Spread the breadcrumbs in another shallow bowl.
• Dip the cheese pockets into the egg mixture, allowing excess to drip back in the bowl.
• Dredge in the breadcrumbs, tuning to coat evenly and completely.
• In a large, heavy frying pan, heat both oils over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.
• Working in batches, fry the pockets, turning once, until deep golden brown--about 4 minutes each side.
• Drain on paper towels; sprinkle with sage.
• Serve hot with marinara sauce in dipping cups.

FRIED MOZZARELLA CHEESE STICKS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix the eggs and water.
• Mix the bread crumbs and garlic salt in a medium bowl. In a medium bowl, blend the flour and cornstarch.
• In a large heavy saucepan, heat the oil to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).
• One at a time, coat each mozzarella stick in the flour mixture, then the egg mixture, then in the bread crumbs and finally into the oil. Fry until golden brown, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and drain on paper towels.

FRIED MOZZARELLA STICKS

Steps:

• Heat 1 inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet or wide, shallow pot to about 365 degrees F. (If you don't have an oil thermometer, drop a few bread crumbs in. If they sizzle but don't burn, the oil is ready.)
• Cut the mozzarella into four slabs, then cut each slab into four pieces, to get sixteen sticks. Spread the flour and the bread crumbs on separate rimmed plates. Put the eggs in a shallow bowl, and lightly beat them. Season with salt.
• If using the basil, dip the leaves in the beaten egg and let the excess drip off back into the bowl. Put a leaf on each of the mozzarella sticks, down the length of the stick, and press to adhere. Don't worry if the leaf doesn't stick completely; it will stay on once you begin the breading process.
• Working a few at a time, dredge the mozzarella sticks first in flour, then in the beaten egg, then in the bread crumbs. Once they're breaded, dip them again one by one into the egg and bread crumbs, so that no cheese is visible.
• When the oil is ready, drop half of the mozzarella sticks gently into the skillet. Fry until golden on all sides, about 3 to 4 minutes in all. Remove mozzarella sticks with a spider, or slotted spatula, to drain on paper towels. Season with salt. Repeat process with remaining mozzarella sticks. Serve warm, with marinara sauce for dipping.