Food - Drink
The Fruity Marinara Alternative To Seriously Elevate Mozzarella Sticks
By EMILY BOYETTE
Mozzarella sticks are the ultimate comfort food, breaded and fried to crispy perfection and served as an appetizer at many American sports bars, fast food chains, and Italian joints. While this snack is usually paired with marinara sauce, a more fruity sauce is rampantly popular in a certain region of the United States.
Cooks in New York’s capital district, Albany, serve mozzarella sticks with melba, a simple raspberry sauce. This may sound odd, but fruit and cheese is a classic combo and a study in contrast, and the sweet sauce with a dunkable consistency balances the savory cheese and crispy breading in a surprisingly delicious way.
While melba is typically made using fresh raspberries, a jar of raspberry jam is a great shortcut. Simply empty the jar of jam into a saucepan with red currant jelly and lemon juice, let that simmer until the flavors have intertwined, and pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve in order to get a silky smooth consistency.