I changed this recipe around a bit. For time and supply sake I got rid of the dressing at the end – this proved to be ok because the rosemary is incredibly strong and gives a nice seasoned taste. I also did not cook this on a grill, but rather in a pan in the toaster.. This made the bottom of the bread soggy with olive oil and the top crispy.. I would change this in the future and cook it over an open flame. I also used thick-sliced bacon instead of thin, use thin – trust me.. Overall very, very tasty.

Ingredients:
1 loaf of ciabatta bread
8 rashers of thinly sliced dry-cured smoky bacon, or pancetta
zest of 2 lemons
4 large buffalo mozzarella cheeses
8 sticks of fresh rosemary
1 clove of garlic
extra virgin olive oil

This is an absolutely genius combination. It’s not very often that mozzarella gets cooked in a credible way but this is one time it does. I love the whole idea of putting the bread, mozzarella and smoky bacon together because when cooked they complement each other so well the bread goes really crisp and soaks up all the lovely juices, the milky mozzarella starts to melt and go really gooey, and served with a fresh herb salad it’s lovely. Great for a starter or a snack, and I’ve even made little mini ones as canapes (dare I say that word?!).

Method
Remove the crusts from the ciabatta and tear up into rough 1 inch pieces. Throw into a bowl with the bacon and lemon zest. Divide each mozzarella into 8 similar-sized pieces and add to the bowl. Keeping the leaf tips on the rosemary sticks, remove the lower leaves and then smash these up in a pestle and mortar with the garlic. Stir in 8 tablespoons of olive oil, then pour this mixture over the bread, cheese and bacon. Marinate for anything from 15 minutes to an hour.

Thread your mozzarella and bread on to your rosemary sticks, weaving the bacon in and around. Line up the kebabs on a wire rack and place under the grill on a very high heat until the bread and bacon are golden and crisp and the mozzarella is nice and gooey. While this is grilling make sure you keep an eye on it, as it can turn into a charred kebab very quickly.
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