Ingredients
| 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra to fry the sandwiches | |
| 150g portobello mushrooms, sliced | |
| 1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped | |
| 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped | |
| ½ teaspoon salt | |
| 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs such as basil, parsley, chervil, chives | |
| 4 large slices bread | |
| 75g scarmorza or firm mozzarella, grated | |
| 125g fresh mozzarella, sliced | |
| 2 eggs | |
| 2 tablespoons milk |
There are a few ways to make mozzarella in carrozza: some are fully coated and breadcrumbed, some use basic white loaf for quick cooking, but I prefer a hearty crusty loaf which does require a little boost in the oven at the end of frying to fully melt the cheese. The key to the mushrooms is to cook them enough so that they are condensed in flavour and texture. You can use any fresh variety but I like the robust meatiness of portobellos. If you have some truffle oil or truffle paste, you could add a little after cooking the mushrooms to really dial up the wow factor. If serving these for lunch, I like to accompany them with a leafy salad with something peppery such as rocket and/or bitter such as radicchio, to cut through the richness.
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Instructions
| 1. | Heat the oven to 180°C fan bake. |
| 2. | Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. |
| 3. | Add the mushrooms, garlic, chilli and ¼ teaspoon of the salt and fry for 5 minutes until the moisture has evaporated. |
| 4. | Take off the heat and stir through the herbs, then transfer to a plate and set aside and wipe out the pan if you like. |
| 5. | Lay out two slices of the bread and top with a sprinkle of grated cheese then half the fresh mozzarella. |
| 6. | Divide the cooked mushrooms between the two sandwiches, then top with the remaining fresh mozzarella and finally the remaining grated cheese. |
| 7. | Top with the last two slices of bread. |
| 8. | In a flat dish, whisk the eggs with the milk and the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and season with pepper. |
| 9. | Put the sandwiches into the egg and leave to soak in for about 2 minutes, then carefully flip over and press down to coat in egg and leave to soak for another 2 minutes. |
| 10. | While the bread soaks, heat plenty of oil in the frying pan over a medium-high heat. |
| 11. | Add the sandwiches and cook for about 3 minutes until golden then flip and cook for another 3 minutes. |
| 12. | Transfer to a baking tray and place in the oven for 5 minutes to fully melt the cheese. |
Recipes & food styling Fiona Smith / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Fiona Lascelles