Recipe By Chayie Schlisselfeld
For my buffet dish, I decided to combine two of my favorite dairy appetizers: mozzarella sticks and bruschetta. By breading and frying slices fresh mozzarella cheese, I was left with the perfect flat bruschetta surface . The cheese fries best when it’s breaded and frozen in advance. That’s a good thing! Prep a few days ahead and fry it up right before party time.
Yield: 18 to 20 poppers
Line a baking sheet with Gefen Easy Baking Parchment Paper.
In a shallow bowl, beat eggs. Set aside. Place panko crumbs in a second shallow bowl.
Dip the cheese into the egg to coat completely, allowing the excess egg to drip back in the bowl. Coat the cheese in the panko crumb mixture, patting to adhere and coat completely. Repeat, dipping the cheese in the egg and panko crumb mixture to coat a second time. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Cover and freeze until frozen, about two hours.
Meanwhile, prepare tomato salad. Combine tomatoes and onions in a medium bowl. In another bowl, whisk together olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and garlic. Toss with tomatoes and onions.
When ready to fry the mozzarella slices, heat oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Working in batches, fry the frozen cheese until golden brown, about one minute per side.
Place a teaspoon of the tomato salad on top of the fried cheese popper and serve.
