Artichoke, Pesto and Provolone in Carozza

The term ‘in carozza’ literally means ‘in a carriage’ and refers to something that is contained inside. The famous Italian fried cheese sandwich, originally created at Harry’s Bar in Venice, ‘Mozzarella in Carozza’, is filled to the brim with oozing mozzarella.

It’s a cheese sandwich nirvana, but this is even better.

I love the combination of pesto and cheese. They would be good just on their own, but the artichokes add a certain meatiness and texture than really makes this something special. When you take a bite, you get a burst of intense herby flavour and the melting decadence of the cheese.

Provolone cheese melts beautifully and has a lovely flavour, but ordinary mozzarella would work here too. Use whatever bread you like, but I think brown bread gives this an added delicious dimension.

This recipe makes one sandwich, double or triple for as many people as you need to feed.

Artichoke, Pesto and Provolone in Carozza

Italian-style melted cheese sandwich filled with artichoke, pesto and provolone cheese.

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Servings: 1

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 2 slices sandwich bread, around 1.5cm thick
• 60 ml basil pesto (store bought or homemade)
• 100 g canned/jarred artichoke hearts, drained and sliced
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 100 g provolone cheese, sliced
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp milk
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter

Method

 

1. Cut the crusts off the bread and spread one with basil pesto and top with artichokes. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Top with provolone cheese and the remaining slice of bread. Cut in half.
3. Crack the eggs into a bowl and add the milk, cayenne pepper and 1 tsp salt. Whisk to combine.
4. Heat a non-stick frypan on medium heat and add the olive oil and the butter. Heat until butter is sizzling. Dip the sandwich in the egg mixture to thoroughly coat. Fry on one side until golden, about 2 minutes, then carefully flip over and cook the other side for another 2 minutes.

Recipe from my book – Food for Sharing  Italian Style, New Holland Publishers, Photo – Jonathan VDK