This is a recipe of one of European delicious snacks. The crispy fried cheese is awesome to have as appetizer, everyday snack or as light picnic food. It is also perfect as a romantic picnic food or a side dish with beer. In the article I will present you with my favorite way of cooking the fried cheese. Below you will find step by step recipe instructions along with pictures as well as useful notes and tips. Enjoy the magnificent crispy fried cheese sticks as picnic food ideas!
Fried Cheese Finger Food.
Fried Cheese Finger Food
This is an easy and quick recipe. Crispy cheese sticks have all chances to become your favorite snack. Preparation time: 10 minutes, cooking time: 10 minutes, yields: about 10 servings.
Things you will need.
Ingredients:
125g Brie cheese
1 egg
1 tbsp all purpose flour
small pinch of salt
a pinch of red hot chili powder (optional)
1 small apple
small shoot of fresh mint or 10-15 dried mint leaves
10 diet bread crisps
1 cup breadcrumbs
For frying: 0.5-1 cup olive or vegetable oil
Note: Brie cheese work the best for me in this recipe, instead of Brie you may use, semi-hard Gouda Holland, or harder cheese like Feta.
Instructions:
Although Brie is a soft mildly aged cheese it perfectly works in this frying recipe. I have also tried other soft cheese type like brined (or pickled) soft cheese and it melts and leaks out of the breading at sides when fried. Thus if you want neat fried cheese sticks use semi-hard or hart cheese. If you like blue cheese (like Dorblu, Roquefort, or Gorgonzola) they also are fine for this recipe.
Cut the Brie cheese circle into slices as thin as 0.5 cm or as thick as 1.5-2 cm. My slices were about 5-7 mm (round 1/4 – 1/3 inch) wide. The length may be as the cheese piece allows or divided in smaller cubes – about 1.5 inch or 4 cm long.
Assorted Cheese Slices.
Beat and whip the egg. Add all purpose flour, some salt and a pinch of red hot chili powder if you like. Stir to incorporate well. Dip several cheese pieces in the mixture at a time.
Cheese in Egg Mix.
Then coat the cheese in the breadcrumbs. Now you may either proceed with frying the breaded cheese or secure it with a double coating and return the breaded cheese in the egg mixture again and then bread it once again as well. To my opinion as we add flour into the whipped egg and since we are not using soft type of cheese single coating should work pretty fine – at least with me it did.
Breaded Cheese.
Put a medium size skillet over medium heat. Pour in the vegetable (or olive) oil and allow it to become well hot (not steaming hot). Carefully transfer the breaded cheese sticks into the oil and allow to pen-fry till golden brown. If you are using plenty of oil you may not need to turn the cheese over, thus if needed turn it over to allow frying of the other side. Normally the cheese stick fries on both sides in about half a minute – quite fast.
Frying Cheese.
Transfer the fried cheese sticks onto a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
Removing Excess Oil.
In a few minutes transfer the fried cheese sticks on a serving plate or on a bread crisps.
Tip: Use one cheese stick per crisp or place fried cheese in the middle of two crisps.
You may serve fried cheese as picnic food this way or proceed for a more elaborate serving. I went on adding apple slices. If interested read on. Rinse and dry a small or medium size apple. Make as many thin slices as many fried cheese pieces you have.
Apple Slices.
Apple slices would remind you of potato chips. When done, panfry the apple slices till edges start to curve. If you are for an experiment you may leave them longer in the frying oil and check what comes out. I didn’t experiment although may do it next time as I find it very intriguing – whether I will succeed in making the apple slices as crispy as potato chips.
Elaborate Canapes.
Transfer the pan-fried apple slices on cheese sticks. Add a 1-2 leaves of fresh or dried mint and top the picnic finger food with a seedless slice of a grape. I find fresh mint very fragrant – at least for this recipe thus I preferred dried leaves which added slight after taste to apple and Brie cheese mild flavor.
I love the combination of crispy crust of the fried cheese and its soft inside. It is highly recommended to serve this picnic food while still warm. As a paring have a bottle of semi hard wine. Bon appetit!
