Fresh pecorino cheese in batter, a real treat for your feasts!

Do you know what is “Primosale in pastella”? If you happened to read my blog before I am sure those two words are quite familiar. Primosale is one of our best local cheese in Sicily, also called fresh pecorino, and the Sicilian pastella is simply a batter made of flour and water.

For all you cheese lovers out there you will discover a brand new and sophisticated way to eat this amazing product. It’s normally a starter but can also be served on a buffet as finger food. This is what we are going to prepare this year for our Christmas Eve dinner.

You can fry either the plain cheese or add a stronger twist on it by combining it with one anchovy (per slice of cheese) and a leaf of fresh mint. Just mouthwatering!

– 12 slice of primosale cheese (or any other similar cheese)
– 12 anchovies
– 12 leaves of fresh mint
– batter (to see how to prepare the batter clic here).

Note – This batter is the same one we use for the cardoons and other veggies that we like to fry in pastella.

Let’s start by cutting the cheese in slices thick like shown in the pic (at least 1 cm because they have to be fried in boiling oil) then prepare the batter (to see how to prepare this recipe clic here).

When the batter is ready pour some e.v. olive oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. 
If you are doing the plain ones you just have to dip the cheese into the batter. Otherwise you have to prepare like a little sandwich: a slice of primosale then the mint the anchovy and if you like it very rich you can add a second slice of primosale (in this case you will need 24 slices). 

When the oil is very hot start dipping the cheese in the batter, making sure you drip off the excess. Now gently place it in the frying pan and cook it until the batter is golden and crispy (usually not more than 2 minutes). Turn on the other side, then drain your pieces of cheese on some kitchen paper and add a pinch of salt. You can serve them with a slice of lemon aside. 

If you are looking for a recipe with character, that is easy and scrumptious at the same time, well… stop looking because you’ve just found it. Enjoy!