Imagine a ball of mozzarella, breaded and fried until crispy on the outside and melty and soft on the inside. Placed into a sandwich full of pesto, tomato sauce, salami, prosciutto, MORE cheese and rocket. Grate more parm on top and you have a Fried Mozzarella Sandwich with Tomato Sauce and Prosciutto. It’s such a perfect blend of textures and flavours. As you fry the mozzarella gently, the outside melts whilst also crisping up and the middle turns soft and gooey.
How to Make a Fried Mozzarella Sandwich
This fried mozzarella sandwich is a slight labour of love as we recommend you make all the elements: the pesto, the tomato sauce and the fried mozzarella. But the good news is they are all simple steps.
To make the pesto:
Simply add all the ingredients to a blender. It’s not a traditional pesto as it’s a little creamier and runnier when made in a blender but this means it adds nice creaminess to the sandwich.
The key ingredients are basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, parmesan and salt.
To make the tomato sauce:
Add to a pot a tin of tomatoes, some more fresh basil, salt, pepper and a good drizzle of balsamic vinegar. This helps balance out the sauce with a little acidity as tomatoes are sweet, of course! The slight tanginess of this sauce works really well with the richness of the rest of the mozzarella sandwich.
To make the fried mozzarella:
The key here is to season every layer of the breading process. So make sure you add a good pinch of salt to the bowl of flour, eggs and breadcrumbs. I like to also add some white sesame seeds to the breadcrumbs as I think it looks nice when you have the little white speckles once it’s fried.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it would be very simple to make this recipe vegetarian. Fried mozzarella is actually an excellent veggie alternative to crispy breaded chicken. For this sandwich, just skip the salami and prosciutto and make it cheese only!
As mentioned above, it does really make the mozzarella sandwich incredibly good if you make everything from scratch. But no, you don't have to and you could buy a tomato sauce (I like this one from Mutti – any that doesn’t have lots of sugar as I find them too sweet) and you could buy a pot of pesto. I would recommend a pot of fresh pesto here as the texture is nicer and the flavour not as intense as a classic jar of pesto. Then it would be super easy to add them all to the sandwich and all you have to do is bread and fry the mozzarella.
More Sandwich Recipes You Might Like
Chicken Caesar Sandwich
Rib Eye Steak Sandwich
Mozzarella, Tomato, Pesto Sandwich with Prosciutto
Crispy Chicken Parm Sandwich
Mortadella, Burrata and Rocket Sandwich
Fried Mozzarella Sandwich with Tomato Sauce & Prosciutto
This Fried Mozzarella Sandwich has so many delicious elements but the fried mozzarella is the star of the show.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients
For the sandwich
- 2 balls of mozzarella
- Flour, for breading
- 1 egg, for breading
- Panko breadcrumbs, for breading
- Few slices of prosciutto
- Few slices of salami
- Few slices of cheese – we used sliced mozzarella
- Handful of rocket
- Fresh parm, to grate over the top
1 large baguette or ciabatta
For the tomato sauce
- 1 x 400g tin of tomato
- Few basil leaves
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Salt
- Pepper
For the pesto
- Large bunch of basil
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- 1 garlic clove
- Handful of freshly grated parmesan
- About 60ml olive oil – but start slow and add to get your desired consistency
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Start by making the pesto. Add all ingredients to a blender and blitz until smooth. If it needs more olive oil, add it bit by bit until you have a nice smooth sauce.
- Then make the tomato sauce. Add the tin of tomatoes, a few basil leaves, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar to a pot. Place over medium heat and simmer gently for 5-10 minutes for the flavours to come together.
- Meanwhile, add some flour to a shallow bowl, egg to another and a few handfuls of panko breadcrumbs with some sesame seeds to another. Season each bowl well with salt and pepper. Heat 1-2cm veg/sunflower oil in a pan over medium heat. Take a ball of mozzarella, dip in the flour on both sides, followed by the egg and then finally the breadcrumbs, making sure it’s really packed on. Then place in the hot oil. Repeat with the other ball of mozzarella. Fry for a few minutes a side until golden.
- Then assemble the sandwich. Slice and toast your bread. Spread on the pesto and top with a few slices of cheese, salami and prosciutto. Add rocket, top with fried crispy mozzarella, spoon on the tomato sauce and grate fresh parm over the top. Close with the other half of the bread and press down. Slice and enjoy!
Equipment
Oxo Good Grips | Polished Stainless-steel And Silicone Tongs 30cm
Buy Now →Notes
If you want to make this sandwich vegetarian, just don't add the salami and prosciutto.
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