Fried mozzarella is crispy on the outside and melty, stretchy, salty and cheesy on the inside. A few ingredient swaps make it perfectly gut-friendly and lectin free.
Almost everyone has enjoyed fried mozzarella at some point. One of the best versions I've ever had is at Red Rock Brewery in Park City, Utah. They put cocaine in theirs or something, because you want more immediately.
Seriously, though, Red Rock fried mozzarella starts with triangular cuts of mozzarella cheese, breaded and fried to a golden crisp, then served with an Italian seasoned marinara sauce. The breading is crunchy and the cheese is gooey, just as it should be.
I have deciphered this recipe and converting it to lectin free. My LFG version takes advantage of the goodness of blanched almond flour instead of bread crumbs. Also, I used Galbani buffalo mozzarella, made from real Italian Mediterranean buffalo milk. This compliant cheese is from Italy and it tastes amazing! It’s way tangier than American cow’s mozzarella. If you can find real Italian buffalo mozzarella, it’s so worth it! And when you start with amazing cheese, you get amazing fried mozzarella.
Let's get to this easy recipe, so you can get these in your mouth ASAP!
The Recipe
LFG Fried Buffalo Mozzarella
6 1/4 inch Slices Galbani Buffalo Mozzarella or Buf brand
2 T Tapioca Flour
1 Egg
1/4 C Milk (your choice)
2 T Almond Flour
1 t Italian Seasoning
1 t Salt
1/4 C Olive Oil
Marinara Sauce
1 t Olive Oil
1/2 C Strained Tomatoes
1 Whole Garlic Clove coarsely smashed
1/4 t Salt
1 T Fresh Basil chopped
Step 1: Slice the Mozzarella
With a sharp knife, create (6 ) 1/4-inch slices. Set aside.
Step 2: Coat the Mozzarella
Put the tapioca flour in a zipper bag. In a cereal bowl, whisk the egg and milk together. In another zipper bag, put the almond flour, Italian seasoning and salt. Zip it and shake to mix the ingredients well. Drop all the cheese slices into the zipper bag with the tapioca flour. Zip it and shake gently to coat the cheese well. Pluck out one slice of cheese, drop it into the egg mixture and make sure both sides are drenched. Drop the wet cheese slice into the almond flour mixture and coat well. Next place the coated cheese slice onto a plate. Repeat until all the cheese slices are coated and plated.
Step 3: Chill the Mozzarella
Place the plate of coated cheese slices into the freezer for about 10 minutes until chilled and set.
Step 4: Make the Marinara
While the cheese slices are chilling, make the marinara sauce. In a small saucepan, add olive oil, strained tomatoes and salt. Heat until it begins to bubble. Turn off heat, add chopped basil and stir into sauce. Spoon the sauce into a ramekin for dipping.
Step 5: Fry the Mozzarella
In a cast iron skillet or dutch oven, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil on medium heat until oil is thin. Remove the plate of cheese from the freezer and place the cheese in the pan with heated oil. Brown each side for about 45 seconds and flip. Brown the other sides for about 45 seconds. Be careful not to cook too long or the cheese will lose its shape. You want hot, soft cheese, but not completely melted and oozing out of the breading. When both sides are brown remove cheese from pan one-by-one and place onto a paper towel. Cool for a few minutes before serving.
Step 6: Fry the Garlic
While cheese is cooling, drop the coarsely smashed garlic into the hot oil for about 10 seconds. Place the fried garlic on the top of the marinara sauce. Garnish with a fresh basil leaf.
To serve, plate the fried mozzarella and sauce together.
Enjoy!
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