Mortadella Bites Recipes

Mortadella Bites

This is probably going to be the easiest appetizer recipe you ever made, but it is so good you’ll want to make it a lot, I promise! One thing we offer to all our farmhouse guests here in Umbria is a wine tasting at our place next door. My husband shares three of his favorite Umbrian wines and I prepare two appetizers for each of the wines he has chosen. When we first started doing this I was making a lot of fancy, multi step delights and would spend much of the day of our wine tasting in the kitchen prepping. I’ve since discovered fancy doesn’t mean better, and I am all for simple, casual country style Italian food. These mortadella bites can be put together in a few minutes and everyone always loves them. In fact, everyone always asks for the recipe and though I initially wasn’t going to post it just because it was so simple, I decided I better share. The cubes of mortadella are quickly fried in a little oil in a frying pan, and once they are light golden brown I add the balsamic vinegar and toss to coat. The heat caramelizes the vinegar onto the meat creating a tasty tidbit that is delicious. I’ve probably made these bites about 30 times in total over the past four years, but I am always too busy serving guests at the time I am making them to get a proper photo of them, so I made a small batch for lunch recently for myself to enjoy so I could grab a photo or two to share.
For those not familiar with mortadella, according to Wikipedia it is a large Italian sausage or cold cut, made of finely hashed or ground, heat-cured pork sausage, which incorporates at least 15% small cubes of pork fat (principally the hard fat from the neck of the pig). Mortadella is a staple product of Bologna, Italy. It is flavored with spices, including whole or ground black pepper, myrtle berries, nutmeg and pistachios. Mortadella can be found in most grocery stores these days at the deli counter where it is generally sliced very thin for sandwiches. I simply ask the deli worker to cut me a large slice about 1 inch thick. I then cut this slice into 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes. You can experiment with the amount of vinegar to add, I do not like too much as I think it overpowers the flavor of the meat, but you can choose for yourself.

Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele 2012

Mortadella Bites

Yield: Serves 4 - 6

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

A very quick and easy appetizer using cubes of mortadella and balsamic vinegar.

Ingredients:

1 Pound Thick Mortadella Slice (See Notes Above)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 to 3 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:

Cut the mortadella into square cubes about 1 to 1 1/2 inch in size.
In a frying pan, heat the oil and once hot, add the mortadella.
Cook, stirring frequently and turning over the cubes until the meat is just starting to brown on all sides, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the balsamic vinegar, remove the pan from the heat, and toss the meat to coat in the vinegar.
Place the mortadella bites in a bowl with mini skewers and serve immediately.