Olive oil fried bread with mozzarella and winter herbs
Recipe by Florence Blair
#cookwitholiveoil 9.
Olive oil fried bread feels special; it’s a totally different thing to toast, in a league of its own. With torn mozzarella, draped anchovies (or chopped olives, if you prefer), and fried winter herbs, these are perfect to hand round with drinks, or served with a bitter leaf salad as a simple supper.
Serves 4-10
Honest Toil extra virgin olive oil
3 sprigs of rosemary, leaves picked
Small bunch of sage, leaves picked
5 slices of sourdough
250g mozzarella
Tin of anchovies (or a large handful of olives, roughly chopped)
Set a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add a long pour of olive oil (about 100ml) to generously cover the base of the pan. Once warm, add the rosemary and sage leaves. Fry for a minute or two until fragrant and just beginning to crisp. Use tongs to remove the herbs from the oil and set aside on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
Add as many slices of sourdough to the pan as you can fit. Fry for a few minutes on each side until deeply golden. The pan should always be shimmering with oil, never dry, so add more glugs as needed. Transfer from the pan to a chopping board and repeat with the remaining bread.
Cut the fried bread into halves (or smaller if you prefer, depending on the size of the slices and how you’d like to serve them). Tear over the mozzarella, drape with anchovies and scatter over the herbs. Finish with big twists of black pepper and a light sprinkling of flaky salt.
