Fried Mozzarella Sandwiches with Tomatoes, Basil, and Olives
Recently Lidia Bastianich made sandwich skewers on her show. She stacked 7 layers of bread and mozzarella, cut the sandwiches in quarters, skewered each quarter and dipped each spiedini (Italian for skewer) in flour and then beaten eggs, fried them until crisp and served them with a lemon caper sauce.
I started out intending to make the recipes as she did, but a trip to the market changed my mind. The tomatoes looked good, I wanted green olives instead of capers, and why put something on a stick when all you’re going to do is take it off the stick to eat it? So in the end, these sandwiches are inspired by Lidia, but not the ones she made on her show.
Who doesn’t love a cheesy, melty sandwich topped with tomatoes and olives? A nice twist on the good old grilled cheese.
Recipe
Ingredients
8 slices white bread
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/2 C olive oil
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, sliced
1 C flavorless oil
1/2 C flour
2 eggs beaten
2 large ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/2′ pieces
1/4 C pitted green olives, sliced
1 T olive oil
1 t balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1 T basil, sliced thin
Instructions
Cut the crusts off the bread.
Combine the garlic and 1/2 C olive oil in a blender and blend until the mixture is smooth.
Use a pastry brush to brush each slice of bread on one side with the garlic mixture.
Place 1 oz. of mozzarella on top of one of the pieces of bread brushed with oil, and sandwich with another piece of bread with the oiled side down.
Make ahead tip: At this point you can set the sandwiches aside, covered at room temperature for several hours.
Place 1C of oil in a large skillet over a high heat. Once the oil is hot, reduce to a medium high heat.
Dip each sandwich in flour and then in the beaten egg and place into the hot skillet. Depending on the size of your skillet you may be able to fry two or three sandwiches at a time. Fry the sandwiches until golden on one side, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip (I use tongs and a spatula) and brown the other side, an additional minute or two. Remove the sandwich to a baking sheet lined with paper towels and keep the sandwiches in a warm oven while you fry the rest.
In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes, olives, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and basil.
Once all the sandwiches have been fried, cut on the diagonal, arrange on a platter and spoon the tomato mixture over and serve immediately.
Makes 8 sandwiches
