MOZZARELLA IN CARROZZA (fried mozzarella sandwich)

Appetizer or Entree - Can be vegetarian and gluten free (READ footnotes)

I had not made this dish in 3-4 years, at least. Then I saw a picture on Facebook and decided to prepare it that Sunday... ehm... it was a Monday, of 2 weeks later! Nonetheless, I prepared it and it was as good as I remembered. It was part of an "all-fried" meal: zucchini, eggplant, chicken fillets, zucchini blossoms... and NO, we didn't eat everything in one meal: there was enough food for 2 meals at least. Check the foot notes, as usual, for potential substitutions and suggestions.

8 oz "dry" mozzarella (the drier one used for pizza)
4/8 ham slices (depending on size)
16 slices of sandwich bread (wheat, white, or the one you prefer)
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
Not flavored/seasoned breadcrumbs
Italian sea salt
Italian extra virgin olive oil to fry


Slice the mozzarella into 8 slices; divide each Ham slice in two, if you got the big slices; remove the crust from the bread slices.

Beat the eggs in a bowl with milk, salt and pepper (if you like it).

Make the sandwiches with 1 slice of mozzarella and 1 piece of ham, making sure to leave edges free of ham/cheese so that the bread slices will be in contact.

Dip them in the eggs/milk mixture and let the bread soak. Press it very well to make sure the sandwich will not open while cooking.

Place the sandwiches in the bread crumbs and let them stick on both sides.

Warm up olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.

Fry the sandwiches, turning them once only if possible, until they golden on both sides.

Serve immediately with a nice salad or other vegetables.

- If there is some eggs mixture left, don't throw it away: refrigerate it and use it to make an omelette. CAREFUL!! Make sure to use it the day after at latest: it won't keep long, even in the refrigerator.
- You may need to adjust the size of the ham slices to reflect the size of the "de-crusted" bread.
- I use the "pizza" mozzarella just because the fresh one, even though tastier, could be too wet. In case you want to use that, slice it and let it lose some of its moisture, patting the slices dry, if needed.
- You can easily make it gluten free, using GF bread slices and breadcrumbs.
- It's vegetarian, provided that you don't use ham.