A classic grilled cheese is a simple, timeless treat, but the Italian sandwich known as "mozzarella in carrozza" — literally, "mozzarella in a carriage" — takes this to the next level as, essentially, a fried cheese sandwich. At the Nassau Paradise Island Wine & Food Fest , Daily Meal spoke with chef Glenn Rolnick of Carmine's , a famous Italian restaurant in New York City, about his favorite way to make this comforting classic — with a twist. Rolnick begins with the basics: high-quality, fresh mozzarella cheese.
"You get fresh — even bocconcini or ciliegine, the little ones," he said, referring to tiny balls of fresh mozzarella cheese, "and you really have to toast the bread really well." Mozzarella en carrozza is often deep fried in oil, but Rolnick instead likes to griddle the sandwich in a little bit of butter "because it gets really crispy, but it's still soft on the inside." Rolnick likes to skip the traditional egg wash, useful on a fried version of this sandwich for keeping breadcrumbs on (which he also skips.
) If cooking at Carmine's, he still does the egg wash, but for his own sandwiches, Rolnick found that an egg wash is "a little too heavy, and I really want to taste the cheese." Seasoning mozzarella en carrozza A good mozzarella en carrozza starts with good seasonings, and for Carmine's chef Glenn Rolnick, it does literally start with this step. Before cooking, "I will marinate the fresh mozzarella in a little bit of olive oil, a little bit of garlic," Ro.