Cheese Whiz
There are few things better than mozzarella marinara: hot, mild, milky melted cheese in a crisp golden jacket of bread crumbs and napped with marinara sauce.
When I was growing up, it seemed that just about every Italian restaurant in town served mozzarella marinara. Then again, most of our local Italian eateries were of the red-and-white checked tablecloth variety. They served buttery garlic bread, antipasto salad and spaghetti. Maybe fettuccine too.
In the 1970s, few of us had heard of a trattoria, let alone an enoteca. But when trattorias started opening their doors, mozzarella marinara became an endangered species, except in plastic-menu chain spots, where it was indistinguishable in appearance from frozen fish sticks, and in a few stalwart Italian dining rooms.
La Dolce Vita in Beverly Hills is one of those holdouts, an old-school place once frequented by Frank Sinatra and company, with red leather booths, tuxedoed waiters and a menu that has changed little--prices aside--since it opened in 1966. The mozzarella marinara here, served in a generous slab about the size of a piece of toast, is terrific. It comes to the table piping hot with just the right amount of good, fresh-tasting marinara sauce that is neither too sweet nor mucked up with too much garlic. And when you cut through its crispy exterior, the cheese oozes forth.
According to Geronimo Ceballos, who has been chef at La Dolce Vita for 15 years, there are several tricks to making perfect mozzarella marinara. The first is to start with good whole-milk mozzarella. There’s nothing skinny, nor should there be, when it comes to fried cheese. Also key is using enough oil to cover the cheese completely. If you don’t, you’ll have to flip the cheese midway, a potentially messy and dangerous endeavor when you’re dealing with hot oil.
Add a glass of Barbera or Chianti, maybe a hunk of bread to sop up the extra sauce, and dinner is served.
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La Dolce Vita’s Mozzarella Marinara
Serves 4 to 8
SAUCE
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped
1 14.5-ounce can peeled pear tomatoes, pureed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
10 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
BREADED MOZZARELLA
Canola oil
1 cup flour
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
2 eggs
4 pieces low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella, about 4 inches by 4 inches and 1/2-inch thick
4 basil leaves
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and saute garlic until golden. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil, then add the oregano and basil leaves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
In a large frying pan, heat enough canola oil to cover the mozzarella completely.
Meanwhile, spread the flour on a plate. Spread the bread crumbs on another plate and mix with pepper and parsley. Prepare the egg wash by beating the eggs in a shallow pan. Dredge the mozzarella in the flour and shake off excess. Dip in the egg wash and then the bread crumbs, completely coating both sides. Place the mozzarella in a single layer in the frying pan and fry until golden brown, about 30 seconds.
With a spatula, remove the mozzarella and drain on a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Place each slice on a plate and add the marinara sauce. Garnish with fresh whole basil leaves.
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Leslee Komaiko is a frequent contributor to the magazine.