Marinated mozzarella is marinated and then roasted with bay leaves and salami in this is a super simple one tray winner.
So you have probably marinated meat and maybe even fish before but have you ever tried marinating cheese? Mozzarella is a very mild and creamy cheese. It is really elevated when soaked in this spicy dressing as well as cutting through its richness. Cooking the mozzarella with a base of either a bay or lemon leaf further imparts flavour onto the mozzarella. If you prefer you could add a layer of Parma ham or chorizo instead of the salami. This would make a delicious starter for a Meditaranean feast with a side of focaccia and a glass of white wine.
Method
- Toast the fennel seeds and chilli flakes. Mix them with the olive oil, and the juice and zest of both lemons.
- Cut each ball of mozzarella into 6 and add to the marinade. Leave to soak for an hour, or overnight if you can.
- Heat the oven to 180C/ Gas 4. Place two lemon leaves onto a tray, then add a slice of salami on top. Next, add 2 mozzarella pieces and then put another leaf on top. Repeat with the remaining ingredients then bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the tray and splash them with the remaining marinade and serve.
- To eat them, remove the top leaf, fold them in half and they are ready to go.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- pinch of chilli flakes
- 45ml olive oil
- 2 lemons
- 4 x 125g packs mozzarella (this should be 4 balls)
- 30 fresh lemon or bay leaves
- 12 slices of salami or fennel salami
- You will need: a large non-stick baking tray
Top Tip for making Marinated mozzarella with salami
Using the lemon leaves to cook with adds a lovely fragrance to the mozzarella but fresh bay leaves or even Lime leaves will work nicely too.
Chef, Food Writer, and Podcast Host Elişa Roche trained under Jamie Oliver as part of Channel 4 show Jamie's Kitchen before working at some of London's best restaurants. She has cooked at No10 Downing Street and for celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, U2, and Sir Paul McCartney.
She now hosts a podcast about careers in the food industry and loves to mentor newcomers. Before that, Elişa worked as Group Food Director and TI Media and then Future, commissioning, art directing, and producing food and drinks content across more than 20 magazines and their associated websites and special issues.
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