Low Carb Fried Mortadella Sandwiches

And you won't miss the bread.

Fried Mortadella Sandwich, recipe and photo by me, Anna Vocino

This sandwich is my version of and an homage to one of my heroes, the late, great Anthony Bourdain.

Making my low carb version doesn’t miss a single beat, and it’s fucking delicious.

Video tutorial of the Low Carb Fried Mortadella Sandwich lives here.

BTW, this Substack takes several hours of work weekly, and I hope y’all can show a little love by clicking the heart at the end of this post or leave me a comment, as I thrive on fellowship.

Now onto the recipe notes, Happies…

One of these sandwiches should fill you up real good, but this recipe makes two sandwiches because you should share these with someone you love.

I used cottage cheese as the base of the “bread” pieces so that they’re a little more substantial than cloud bread. You can use almond flour in place of the crushed pork rinds, if you need to.

I use Volpi thin sliced mortadella, but you can use whatever you find, including good ol’ fashioned bologna/baloney (which is American mortadella). Mortadella originated in Bologna, Italy, so it all makes sense in the end, I suppose.

Here’s the downloadable, printable version of this recipe.

Make sure you pre-order Eat Happy Italian because you’re gonna want more of my low carb Italian and Italian American recipes. Upload your receipt for some kick-ass bonus recipes.

FRIED MORTADELLA SANDWICH

(Makes 2 sandwiches)

• 2/3 cup full fat cottage cheese

• 1/4 cup crushed pork rinds

• 2 eggs

• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• Butter for frying

• 12 slices of thin sliced mortadella (6 slices per sandwich)

• Ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced thinly

• Mayonnaise

• Dijon mustard

• Pesto

Whisk together the cottage cheese, pork rinds, eggs, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Heat the butter to medium high heat in a nonstick frying pan until hot and bubbling. Scoop four even portions of the mixture onto the pan, using a spatula to flatten it out into four 4” circles. Fry on each side until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove the bread discs from heat onto a paper towel, leaving the pan on the heat.

Fry 6 of the slices of mortadella until crispy, flipping halfway through (about 2 minutes per side), then remove them from the heat and repeat with the remaining 6 slices. Turn the stove off but leave the pan on the burner. Quickly fry the mozzarella slices for 15-30 seconds per side just to soften them and remove the slices from the pan.

Spread the mayonnaise and Dijon mustard on the bread slices, top with fried mortadella and mozzarella, then slap a big dollop of pesto on top. Press the sandwich together, slice in half, and serve immediately.