Fried Bocconcini

Fried Bocconcini are balls of fresh mozzarella that are breaded and fried, and served with dipping sauces – perfect appetizers, football food, or part of a holiday spread.

Guess what.

I deep fried cheese today.

AND I deep fried them in my pizza dough.

These are straight up Rock Stars, and everybody demolished them. I made three different dipping sauces for them. Aaannndddd…my dear daughter Katelyn and her sweet friend, Hannah, helped me out with these.

I love when my family gets involved with my cooking and blogging. It was extra fun because they’re crazy giddy little teens.

Ok, it’s true, I’m not liking the fact that they look like they’re 20 and they’re only 15. Is it the hormones in the chicken these days? That would be a big fat no in our case. Maybe Hannah, but my daughter doesn’t eat chicken. Or any meat, for that matter.

Peanut butter doesn’t do that.

For the dipping sauces, I made hot jalapeno raspberry, traditional marinara, and a homemade enchilada sauce.

My favorite was the jalapeno raspberry.

Of course.

Katelyn loved the marinara.

What Is Bocconcini?

Fresh mozzarella cheese is made in multiple different sizes and there are multiple different variations. Bocconcini, that means “small mouthful” in Italian are approximately bite-sized round spheres of cheese and are used for various uses. They’re typically packed in salt water brine or whey. Ciliegine, “small cherries” are even smaller than bocconcini and you’ll see them typically in pasta salads or soups.

The bocconcini I purchased was perfect for frying and dipping. You’ll typically find these in the grocery store in the cases that sell fine and artisan cheeses.

How Do You Make Fried Bocconcini?

First, you’ll want to remove the cheese from its container and let it drain on a paper towel for a few minutes to prepare to fry them. The moisture will compromise the dough making a solid adhesion to the cheese, and it will be frustrating. After you make the dough, which is my easy pizza dough recipe, you just pinch off a small amount of dough and wrap it around a cheese ball. It may seem cumbersome at first, but trust me, you’ll get a rhythm going and it will be nothing to put them together.

Now, you can either air fry these, bake these or fry them. I have done all three, with similar results, although the deep fried version has a certain richness to it that the others don’t have. However – the other two were fantastic, so they’ll be great no matter which method you choose to use.

Let me introduce my beautiful taste testers –  

Katelyn–

Hannah–

I love having my daughter involved in my work, even though she’s a picky little eater. Except when it comes to any type of chocolate, cheese, or bread. Oh, and jalapeños. And more cheese. Oh, and I’ve gotten her addicted to Cholula.

I almost forgot to mention she has developed this amazing veggie sandwich that we will be posting later. It’s outstanding and very post-worthy. I’m hoping some of my foodie passion is rubbing off on her.

*Ah* – to be 15 again.

Here’s your printable-

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Fried Bocconcini

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Balls of fresh Mozzarella cheese deep fried and served with three dipping sauces - like cheese sticks but better!

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Ingredients

Bocconcini

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• 1 ½ cups warm water (between 99° and 107° F)
• 1 packet yeast
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 lb. bocconcini (mozzarella balls in water & whey or olive oil)
• Dried basil
• Sea salt

Jalapeno Raspberry Sauce

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• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 2 tbsp raspberry jam
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ cup water

Marinara Sauce

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• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fennel

Enchilada Sauce

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• 3 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cocoa
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 2 ½ cups water
• 1 cup tomato sauce

Instructions

1. Combine the water and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer; let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Stir on low and add flour, salt and olive oil.
3. Mix on medium until the dough pulls away from the bowl; adding more flour if needed.
4. Add to an oiled bowl and cover for at least an hour.
5. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
6. Break off about a tablespoon chunk of dough and make it a smooth circle. Add a chunk of cheese in the center, and wrap the rest of the dough around it. Pinch any dough together that isn't covering cheese. Continue with the rest of the cheese and dough.*
7. Sprinkle with basil and salt and bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown.
8. Whisk together the jalapeno, raspberry, sugar and water. Heat over medium high until it starts to boil; remove from heat and put in a cute little bowl.
9. Do the same with tomato sauce through fennel.
10. For the enchilada sauce, combine all dry ingredients, add water and whisk to combine over medium heat. Add tomato sauce and whisk until thickened.
11. Serve mozzarella balls with sauces.
    

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  Presto 05427 FryDaddy Electric Deep Fryer, Green/Gold

Notes

*You will have dough leftover; just pop it in a ziplock bag and freeze unless you will use it in the next two days.

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