Mozzarella sticks  are crispy, they are chewy and golden and melted and gorgeous and they are served with a spicy marinara sauce. They are absolutely delicious, we are going to start off with a beautiful casava sauce. Drop olive oil in a pan they fry off a little bit of garlic and a few chilli peppers. If you don’t want the spicy in this recipe, just take out the chilli pepper.

Start frying the garlic and the chili just until they become kind of fragrant and aromatic and once you start to smell that lovely garlic its time to get in there, you could make this with chopped tomatoes, Add it in the garlic and chilli and then add a tiny pinch of sugar, you want that sweetness in there, season it u with a little pinch of sea salt and black pepper and this is going to simmer away for about 10 minutes.

Take a block of mozzarella and you are looking for about a centimetre or half an inch of thickness all the way around. Have some panko breadcrumbs that you are going to add some parmesan cheese, so get them straight in there.

Add a tablespoon of garlic powder and we are also going to add a teaspoon of dried oregano. Give it a little seasoning with some black pepper and mix it to incorporate well so when you dip your mozzarella sticks in, they are going to get a nice coating. So basically we are going to go from flour to eggs to bread crumbs.

Once you are done, the trick to getting perfect oozing mozzarella sticks is to stick them into the freezer for about 45 minutes until they have a firm up and completely cold so that means when they hit the tot foil what you will be left with is an exterior that’s nice and golden brown with an interior that is just going to melt.

Once your cheese sticks have had their time in the freezer, its time to fry them off in a pot filled with oil at 350 degrees Farenheight. Once done, transfer them into a kitchen paper then serve with a marinara sauce.

Instructions;

  • 450g mozzarella sliced into thick rods
  • 100g plain flour
  • 2 large free-range eggs
  • 50ml milk
  • 100g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
  • 100g panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • Sunflower oil, for frying

For the marinara sauce;

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • ½ tsp red chilli flakes
  • 1 jar passata
  • 1 tsp caster sugar

Instructions;

  1. Arrange 3 shallow bowls on your work surface. In the first, whisk together the eggs and milk.
  2. In the next evenly combine the parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, oregano, garlic powder and black pepper. Lastly, add the flour to the third bowl.
  3. Dredge each mozzarella sticks in flour, followed by the egg/milk mixture and finally toss to coat in the breadcrumb mixture.
  4. Transfer each coated mozzarella piece on a wire rack and when complete leave in the freezer for 1 hour.
  5. Place a frying pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil and butter.
  6. When the butter is melted and foaming adds the garlic and chilli flakes.
  7. Fry for 2 minutes before pouring in the passata and stirring through the sugar.
  8. Bring to a steady simmer and continue to cook for 10 minutes or until slightly reduced. Taste for seasoning. Keep warm.
  9. Add sunflower oil approximately halfway up a large high sided wide casserole and bring to 175ºC/350˚F on a cooking thermometer over medium heat.
  10. Carefully add the mozzarella pieces to the hot oil using a slotted spoon.
  11. Fry for 2-3 minutes until golden brown, make sure not to overcrowd the pot.
  12. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
  13. Serve the mozzarella warm with a marinara sauce for dipping.