Fried Manchego Cheese

This recipe is a modification of Bobby Flay’s Baked Manchego with Yellow Pepper Romesco. Bobby didn’t bake the cheese, he fried it. I don’t know why the recipe had baked in the name. I wish I had taken a picture, as it was a beautiful dish, but with Bruce ready to eat it as soon as it was out of the pan, I didn’t get a chance to take a picture.

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt (divided into 1/2 teaspoons)
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 (4 ounce) slices Manchego cheese, each about 1/2 inch thick
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• Harissa paste (optional)
• Baguette, thinly sliced (optional)

Tools:

Four large plates, pie pan or cake pan, large cast iron skillet or nonstick pan, spatula or tongs, paper towels, knife and cutting board, fork

Instructions

1. Put the flour on a large plate and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Stir slowly together with a fork. You don’t want to get the flour into the air.
2. Crack the eggs in the pie pan or cake pan, add 2 tablespoons water, and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Whisk the eggs until smooth.
3. Put the panko crumbs on another large plate.
4. Cut the large slices of cheese in half longwise. You should have four 1/2 inch thick pieces of cheese.
5. Dredge the cheese slices in the flour. Make sure to coat the cheese, then tap off any excess flour.
6. Dip the floured cheese into the egg mixture and let any excess drip off.
7. Roll the cheese in the panko bread crumbs and press the crumbs against the cheese to make sure they stick. Put the coated cheese on another plate.
8. Line a plate with paper towels and set it near the stove.
9. Heat the oil in the large skillet or nonstick pan over high heat until it begins to shimmer.
10. Add the breaded cheese to the hot oil being careful to put the cheese in away from you so the oil doesn’t splash on you.
11. Fry until the first side is golden brown, about 3 minutes and carefully flip the cheese with a spatula or tongs.
12. Fry the second side until golden brown, about another 3 minutes. The cheese will be softened.
13. Transfer the cheese to the paper towel–lined plate and season with a sprinkling of salt.
14. Very gently pat the top of the cheese with paper towels to remove any excess oil.
15. Transfer the fried cheese to a serving plate.
16. Serve with a harissa paste for dipping the melted crispy cheese in.

Notes:

Since harissa paste is a pepper sauce, I used it in places of the Yellow Pepper Romesco that Bobby makes. I didn’t happen to have any peppers on hand, but I did have a jar of harissa paste.

I served this with fried andouille sausage, thinly sliced on a diagonal. Slice a bit of the fried cheese off, dip it in the harissa, and spear a sausage slice. One mouthful of goodness.

An olive tapenade would also be lovely served with the fried cheese.