Fried Mozzarella, Basil and Nectarine Stacks with Balsamic Glaze
I can’t stop stacking.
Ever since these BLT corn fritter stacks all I want to do is stack like all my food.
Stacked veggies, stacked fruit, stacked desserts, even stacked pasta.
Something is wrong with me.
I have a food stacking problem.
The crazy thing is, I take like five minutes to assemble the stacks and make them all pretty.
Yeah, like five whole minutes.
It’s insane, but it gets worse.
I look at my finished stack and think “so pretty!” and then I think “oh fudge, now how do I actually eat this”?
Then I begin to deconstruct my pretty little stack.
And then I eat.
Like a whole ten minutes later.
It’s insane, welcome to my brain.
Of course, now that I think about it, I could have just used my hands or even dug into the stack with a fork and knife and just went to town.
Ugh.
Honestly, my brain tortures me.
So anyway, let’s talk about summer.
How is yours going?
You loving it? Hating it? Wishing for fall? Totally board? Totally busy?
In a summer food rut?
I am so in a summer food rut. All I think about when it comes to food is fruit, zucchini, more fruit, corn, tomatoes, basil, more fruit. Typical summer food.
How about you guys, what are you guys eating? Is it all tomatoes, zucchini and peaches or chicken, burgers and ribs? Or maybe a combo? Or is it something totally different and awesome?
Okay, so have you guys ever had fried mozzarella?
Because it is the most amazing thing. It’s not really fried, well I guess it kind of is. You pan fry and flip like you would a pancake, except it’s one minute on one side and one minute on the other and then you have crunchy on the outside and warm, melty and gooey on the inside. It is crazy good. Crazy, crazy good.
Then I paired it with warm grilled or pan seared peaches, fresh basil and balsamic glaze.
Like a nectarine caprese, except warm and sweet. It’s such a good combo. Fruit paired with cheese has to be one of my favorite finds of summer.
I love it.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Fried Mozzarella, Basil and Nectarine Stacks with Balsamic Glaze
By halfbakedharvest
Course: Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: balsamic, mozzeralla
Stacked cheesy goodness
Ingredients
- 4 large nectarines or peaches sliced into rounds
- 12 leaves large basil
- 12 ounces fresh mozzarella sliced into 8 thick round slices
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Balsamic Glaze
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar optional
Instructions
-
Add vinegar and brown sugar, if using, to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a very low simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, until liquid reduces by about half and is slightly syrupy. Remove from heat, pour vinegar in a bowl or glass to pour, and set aside to cool and thicken.
-
In a large bowl, combine panko, flour, parmesan, salt, pepper and cayenne, mixing thoroughly to combine. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Take each slice of fresh mozzarella and coat it in the beaten egg, then dredge it through the bread crumb mix, pressing on both sides to adhere. Repeat with the remaining slices.
-
Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and sear both sides of the nectarines for 1 to minutes until just warmed, but still somewhat firm. Alternately you can also grill the nectarines directly on the grill. Keep the nectarines warm.
-
Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet and when hot, fry coated mozzarella, turning carefully once or twice, until golden and cheese starts to melt but still retains its shape, about 1 minute on each side. Drain on paper towels.
-
To assemble, place one nectarine to a plate, top with 1 slice of fried mozzarella and then a basil leaf. Repeat the layer one more time and finish with a nectarine. Garish with basil and freshly grated pepper. Drizzle on the balsamic glaze.
Ah, sweet summertime!
This looks really good!!
Thanks Debie!
This looks really good. I’m going to have to get some tomatoes and nectarines asap. I have everything else to make it.
Ya! Thanks so much, kristi! Hope you love these!
Loving the flavour combinations here! I don’t fry mozzarella nearly enough!
Thanks Kevin! This was my first time and I was amazed. So good!
Fried mozzarella? My life is changed.
Seriously, that looks like one of the most amazing things. Ever.
Fried mozzarella sticks used to be one of my favorite foods ever. I had no idea that it’s possible to make something this heavenly in your own kitchen.
I love the combo of nectarine and balsamic, too.
The best thing about summer is the fruit, in my opinion! I’m probably going to cry when fresh blueberries disappear from our stores.
I’m going off to pin this now–the pictures are amazing!
This is such a different idea! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Rayna!
Aren’t nectarines just absolutely amazing right now?? I cannot get enough of them!
yes!!!
Thanks Hannah!
Fried mozzarella…I’m in! What an awesome combination 🙂
Thank you, Lisa!
I’m a huge stacking fan! But then, I’m also SUPER into unstacking for eating purposes. I like enjoying each component separately. Kinda weird, but kinda true.
Seared nectarines and mozzarella! YES.
Oh so glad I am not alone!
Thanks Joanne!
Fried mozzarella is seriously the best thing in the world. The fact that you paired it with nectarines, basil and balsamic? SWOON!
Thanks Des!! The combo is so good!
Wow, this looks crazy good, and your mozz has such a delicate coat. Super inspired!
Thank you, Heidi!!
This is brilliant! Yum!
Thank you, Norma!
These stacks look like summer on a plate, love the balsamic glaze!
Thanks you, Laura!
This is simply amazing – I love stacked food 🙂
Thank you, Kristen!! You are so sweet!
What a great way to enjoy some of summer’s great flavors! I’ve been eating a lot of caprese lately. I’ll have to give this sweet version a try! 🙂
Thanks Crystal!
Keep stacking! 😉 Never stop bringing us these GORGEOUS stacked delectables!
Thanks Jennifer!
I hope this doesn’t sound too dumb, but how do you slice a nectarine into a round?
It does not sound dumb at all and it is actually a little tricky. Start at one end of the peach and slice until you run into the core. For me this was about 2 thick slices in. Then cute another slice into top of the peach until you hit the pit. Ok, now carefully use your knife and cut all the way around the pit. So now you should have 1 nectarine slice that is only attached only at the pit. Next take a small pairing knife and very carefully cut around the pit to release the slice. Hopefully now you have 1 slice with a hole in the middle. Hope this was not to confusing and I hope it works for you!
Thank you so much! I’m going to try to make these tomorrow. 🙂
I hope you LOVE them!!
Made this tonight to accompany pork tenderloin. Absolutely amazing!! Thank you for making our supper delicious!!
YEAH!! I am so happy you loved this, Erin! Thanks for making them!
Just curious, the recipe calls for olive oil but it doesn’t say how much for frying the mozzarella. Hoping to make this tonight! Looks amazing, I’m sure I can wing it regardless!
Hi Phoebe, I used only about 1/4 a cup or so. You are not deep frying the cheese, just getting it golden and crispy super fast so there is no need for a ton of oil. Hope these turn out great for you and I hope you love them!
I feel like I can taste this right through the screen, your photography is that good girl! And this just looks amazing! Yum!
Thank you so much, Jocelyn! These were fun to shoot!
Hi! i’m definitely going to try this one out! looks so delicious. i’m still REALLY amateur at cooking so uh.. what kind of main dish would you pair with this?
You could pair it with anything. Pasta, chicken, steak, fish. I think I had grilled chicken or steak (can’t remember) and just a simple side of rice, but again I think pretty much anything goes!! You could do a simple italian style pasta and serve this as the salad or just some chicken or steak or even just a quinoa or pasta salad.
Hope this helps and I hope you love these!
Thanks Alexis!
I made these tonight and used them as a main course (life is short right, gotta live it up). There are only two of us and well……..fried mozzarella…..who could just make a few. It was SO delicious. We truly felt pampered with yumminess. I thought that the balsamic glaze would be a bit much, but it was perfect. Thanks for the recipe.
Oh yes!! So happy you guys loved these!
Oh and I LOVE that you made them for dinner and as a main. That is so awesome and totally something I would do!
Thanks Lisa!
Hi Tieghan;
That recipe sounds so delicious.
My question is, as we don’t have panko breadcrumbs here, can i use regular and how would they affect the taste.
Thanks in advance
Sophia
Hi Sophia! Yes, you can use regular. The only difference it that the crust may not get as crispy, but I am sure it will still be delicious! Hope you love these!
instead of balsamic you can also use something more extreme!!! strawberry vinegar!!! http://www.trofos.com/pagesall/productfinal.aspx?pid=485
Thanks for the tip!
This looks amazing! I am having a small party this weekend and and want to serve these, however one small issue. Peaches and nectarines aren’t in season just yet. The store just got some beautiful pears though, do you suppose that would be a suitable substitution?
Hey Rose! I think paris would work well or apples. Maybe add a drizzle of honey since they are not as sweet ate nectarines, but that is totally up to you. Thanks so much and I hope this turns out awesome!
Great idea! Definitely going to try this, substituting the flour for coconut flour in effort to make it LCHF friendly 🙂
Made these for the second time last night.. They are delicious! Love this recipe.
So happy you love them! THANKS!
Just found this recipe and had to make it ASAP. This is seriously the BEST thing I’ve ever eaten. I could even see this as a dessert option after a fancy meal. Perfect combination of sweet and savory. I’m in love!
How do you de-seed the fruit so that it remains a ring?
You just slice till you get to the pit and then switch to the other side. Then one you can see the pit on both sides, you just cut around the pit in a circle. Hope that helps!
I was finally able to install the scratch and sniff application on my phone and omg it was a heavenly scent.
Thanks for the killer recipe, i changed it up just a tad and poured a little sweetcream over the top and that was also heavan
What are you doing to me?!?!?! I stumbled upon this website, and my mom had to break me from your spell!!! I even started making plan to make these this summer since I grew my own basil plants (along with cherry tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, rosemary, cilantro, lavender, and sage).
Haha! 🙂
Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy this and congrats on your home grown veggies! Jealous! 🙂
I’m making this tonight to go with our dinner. Grilled Flat Iron steak, pasta with homemade pesto, and ciabatta. Instead of doing the stacks, since we have three young kiddos, I’m going to serve it family style on a bed of arugula. I’m pretty darned excited. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hope you love it! Thanks!
It looks so yummy.
I will try to make it for my kids.
Thank for sharing. Now i have a new repice….