Description
Fresh herbs and fresh mozzarella balls marinated in olive oil make an easy, quick appetizer.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella balls (ciliegine, pearls, or a combination)
- 1 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 Tablespoon fresh herbs, minced; parsley, thyme, basil, oregano, chives
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Drain liquid from the mozzarella balls, if necessary.
- To a container with an airtight lid, add garlic, minced fresh herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir or shake to mix well.
- Add mozzarella balls to the oil and herb mixture. Stir or shake gently to coat mozzarella. Add a little more olive oil if needed to make sure all of the mozzarella balls are in the oil.
- Cover and refrigerate at least a day and up to 5 days. NOTE: the oil will solidify while in the fridge - that’s ok!
- Remove from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before serving. This liquifies the olive oil again. Spoon the mozzarella balls into a serving dish.
- Serve with picks.
Notes
Mozzarella. We used both the ciliegine and pearl size mozzarella balls. For a single bite use the ciliegine. For a smaller bite, or multiple mozzarella balls on one pick, use the pearls. 8 ounces ciliegine is about 24 mozzarella balls. 8 ounces of pearls is about 80 mozzarella balls. NOTE: our taste testers were evenly split on what size they liked best.
Use mozzarella slices and serve on a platter with a basket of crusty bread.
Herbs. We used chives, basil, and thyme for our herb mixture but make this your own. Rosemary, parsley, dill, oregano, tarragon will all be great. Play with different combinations or use a single herb. If you don’t have access to fresh herbs, dried will also work, just reduce the amount to 1-2 Tablespoons.
Additions. Mix in some red pepper flakes with the herbs to spice this up a bit. Add kalamata or green olives and un-marinated artichokes hearts or quarters with the marinating mozzarella balls. Add a dash of red wine vinegar to the marinade for a hint of tanginess!
Leftovers. These marinated mozzarella balls are great tossed with some warm pasta. Add some of the herb and olive oil marinade for a quick sauce. Extra veggies like broccoli, peas, mushrooms, spinach, or kale are great additions for an easy dish!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Inactive Time: 24 hours
- Cook Time: 1 minute
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 oz
- Calories: 101
- Sugar: 0.4 g
- Sodium: 210.7 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Carbohydrates: 1.1 g
- Protein: 9 g
- Cholesterol: 5.1 mg