OLIVE-CRUMBED BASIL MOZZARELLA WITH SMOKED TOMATO SAUCE

We have a great relationship with Kirsty from La Latteria, a ‘mozzarella laboratory’ just around the corner from Huxtable. She makes these wonderful little hand-tied ‘knots’ of mozzarella studded with basil. Eaten with the olive crumbs and smoked tomato sauce they kind of taste like pizza!

— 2 eggs

— 250 ml (8½ fl oz/1 cup) milk

— 12 basil mozzarella ‘knots’; alternatively, use small plain mozzarella or bocconcini, make a slit in each one and insert a basil leaf in each slit

— plain (all-purpose) flour, for dusting

— snipped basil cress, to garnish

OLIVE CRUMBS

— 155 g (5½ oz/1 cup) pitted kalamata olives

— 160 g (5½ oz/2 cups) fresh breadcrumbs

SMOKED TOMATO SAUCE

— 3 teaspoons olive oil

— 1 French shallot, sliced

— 4 garlic cloves, chopped

— 400 g (14 oz) tin San Marzano tomatoes (see Note), or other sweet, good-quality tinned tomatoes, broken up with your hands

— smoked salt (see Note), to taste

FOR THE OLIVE CRUMBS

Dehydrate the olives for 1½–2 hours in a preheated 120°C (250°F) oven, or for 6–8 hours in a food dehydrator, until the olives are very dry. Blitz the dried olives in a food processor with the breadcrumbs until you have fine black crumbs. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

FOR THE SMOKED TOMATO SAUCE

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan and sweat the shallot and garlic over medium heat until soft, but without colour. Add the tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes, or until the sauce starts to thicken. Blitz with a hand blender, then pass through a fine sieve to remove the seeds. Season to taste with smoked salt and freshly ground black pepper.

TO CRUMB THE MOZZARELLA

Combine the eggs and milk in a bowl. Place the olive crumbs in another bowl. Dust the mozzarella knots with flour, dredge them through the egg wash, then coat in the olive crumbs. Put the mozzarella knots back into the egg wash, then back into the breadcrumbs, to double-crumb them. Squeeze the crumbs on firmly to make sure there aren’t any holes when cooking.

TO SERVE

Heat about 5 cm (2 inches) of vegetable oil in a large saucepan to 180°C (355°F). Test by dipping a wooden chopstick into the oil: the chopstick will sizzle when the oil is ready.

Working in three batches, deep-fry the mozzarella knots 2–3 minutes, until the crumbs are crisp. Be careful, as the cheese inside will become runny and molten, and if you leave the balls in there too long they’ll explode! Remove from the oil using a slotted spoon and drain immediately on paper towel.

Serve on a platter, garnished with basil cress, with a bowl of smoked tomato sauce on the side.

MAKES 12

• SAN MARZANO IS A SWEET, LOW-ACID ITALIAN ROMA (PLUM) TOMATO VARIETY.

• SMOKED SALT ADDS A SMOKY FLAVOUR TO DISHES, WITHOUT ALL THE EFFORT. YOU’LL FIND IT IN SPICE SHOPS.