Fried Bocconcini With Spicy Tomato Sauce

"Little nuggets of fresh mozzarella cheese, known as bocconcini, are breaded and deep-fried, then paired with a piquant tomato sauce for dipping. Adapted from chef Nate Apleman of SPQR via Williams Sonoma."
 
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photo by wicked cook 46 photo by wicked cook 46
photo by wicked cook 46
photo by wicked cook 46 photo by wicked cook 46
Ready In:
45mins
Ingredients:
10
Yields:
50 bocconcini
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ingredients

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directions

  • In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the garlic is soft but not browned, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and their juices and simmer until the sauce is thickened, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. Set aside.
  • Preheat an oven to 200°F.
  • Drain the cheese from its liquid. Place the cheese on a paper towel-lined baking sheet and pat dry.
  • In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Put the egg mixture, flour and bread crumbs in separate wide, shallow bowls.
  • Roll the cheese in the flour, dip into the egg mixture and coat with the bread crumbs, shaking off the excess after each step. Then bread each piece of cheese again.
  • In a large, deep sauté pan over medium-high heat, pour in olive oil to a depth of 3 inches and heat to 350°F on a deep-frying thermometer. Working in batches, fry the cheese until golden, about 2 minutes. (Or follow the directions of your deep fryer.) Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and season the fried cheese with salt and black pepper. Place the cheese on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while frying the remaining cheese.
  • Let the fried cheese cool for at least 7 minutes before serving. Serve with the warm tomato sauce for dipping.

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Reviews

  1. My DH adored these and loved the dipping sauce. I just the recipe way back and used 6 balls of cheese. I think next time I will try using the smaller ones. There is just one part of the directions that is a bit confusing. It says to bread again I assumed this was doing the whole 3 step process again it really does not specify . Made for Newest Zaar tag March 2009
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>I have always loved to cook. When I was little, I cooked with my Grandmother who had endless patience and extraordinary skill as a baker. And I cooked with my Mother, who had a set repertoire, but taught me many basics. Then I spent a summer with a French cousin who opened up a whole new world of cooking. And I grew up in New York City, which meant that I was surrounded by all varieties of wonderful food, from great bagels and white fish to all the wonders of Chinatown and Little Italy, from German to Spanish to Mexican to Puerto Rican to Cuban, not to mention Cuban-Chinese. And my parents loved good food, so I grew up eating things like roasted peppers, anchovies, cheeses, charcuterie, as well as burgers and the like. In my own cooking I try to use organics as much as possible; I never use canned soup or cake mix and, other than a cheese steak if I'm in Philly or pizza by the slice in New York, I don't eat fast food. So, while I think I eat and cook just about everything, I do have friends who think I'm picky--just because the only thing I've ever had from McDonald's is a diet Coke (and maybe a frie or two). I have collected literally hundreds of recipes, clipped from the Times or magazines, copied down from friends, cajoled out of restaurant chefs. Little by little, I am pulling out the ones I've made and loved and posting them here. Maybe someday, every drawer in my apartment won't crammed with recipes. (Of course, I'll always have those shelves crammed with cookbooks.) I'm still amazed and delighted by the friendliness and the incredible knowledge of the people here. 'Zaar has been a wonderful discovery for me.</p>
 
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