Upon our arrival in Naples, during our trip in September-October, at our first dinner at Trattoria & Pizzeria Ornella we couldn’t help but choose one of the most representative dishes of Neapolitan cuisine: mozzarella in carrozza, which originated in Naples as a “poor dish,” a way to use up leftover stale bread and mozzarella from the previous day.
The best cheese to prepare it is Campania buffalo mozzarella, but there is also a Roman version with a filling of ham, anchovies, and fiordilatte mozzarella.
Do not use sandwich bread because it wouldn’t withstand frying. Tradition would have it that stale bread be used, but sliced bread is fine.
It is said that the name derives from the means of transport, the carriage, which, due to its movement and the heat it subjected the transported milk to, made it arrive at its destination no longer in its original form, but more like cheese.
Others claim that it is the shape itself that gives mozzarella in carrozza its name because once, the slices of bread used were round and, together with the mozzarella and fried, resembled the wheels of an 1800s wagon.
In the video, you will find the gluten-free and lactose-free version cooked in an air fryer.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 8 slices sliced bread
- 1 DOP Campania buffalo mozzarella
- 3 eggs
- 3.5 oz breadcrumbs
- 3 tbsp milk
- as needed flour
- as needed peanut oil
- as needed salt
Preparation
Start by preparing your mozzarella in carrozza by slicing the mozzarella about 0.4 inches (1 cm) thick, squeezing, and patting it dry with paper towels.
Remove the crust from the slices of sliced bread.
Align the slices of bread on your work surface, then place the mozzarella in the center of one of the two slices of bread.
Crack the eggs into a low, wide bowl and beat them with a fork together with 3 tablespoons of milk and a pinch of salt.
Place the flour on a small plate and fill a cup with cold water.
Pass the stuffed bread slices first in flour, then in the egg, covering them completely.
To prevent the mozzarella from melting during cooking, it’s essential the bread is well coated. Therefore, coat the edges in flour and quickly dip them in cold water to seal them.
You can repeat the coating process twice to make it crunchier and prevent the mozzarella from oozing out.
Heat a pan with plenty of oil, and when it’s hot, fry the mozzarella in carrozza: when they are well browned, drain them and place them on paper towels to remove the excess oil.
Don’t fry too many bread triangles at once to avoid lowering the oil temperature.
Salt and serve immediately.
Oven and Air Fryer Variant:
It can also be baked in a preheated oven at 392°F (200°C) for about 8 minutes or until the bread is completely golden.
In air fryer at 374°F (190°C) for 8-10 minutes, turning halfway through cooking until uniformly golden.
In air fryer at 374°F (190°C) for 8-10 minutes, turning halfway through cooking until uniformly golden.
In air fryer at 374°F (190°C) for 8-10 minutes, turning halfway through cooking until uniformly golden.
