Fresh mozzarella wrapped in Italian prosciutto, pan fried and plated with cherry tomatoes, Parmesan coated crispy bread slices and fresh basil; then drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

There are a handful of restaurants that my husband and I go to on occasion and enjoy the food every time. One of those places is The Capital Grille and a majority of the time we'll split an appetizer like this Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella or the Caprese Stacks.

The portions are so big, that recently, we even wind up splitting a meal as well. This recipe has been waiting in the wings for awhile now and as I was looking through my folders trying to decide what to make next, this one popped up and I knew it would be a winner.

How can you go wrong with cheese and prosciutto? I've duplicated several of our favorite recipes from The Capital Grille including their Au Gratin Potatoes, Creamed Spinach and one of my favorite desserts, Chocolate Espresso Cake.

Each one has come extremely close to the original so I couldn't wait to try this Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella recipe.

How do you make Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella?

I'll start off by saying that if you're looking for this to be a healthy appetizer, this isn't it, but the flavor is out of this world amazing! For this recipe you'll need to do a several steps in order to plate it properly like the restaurant does.

Though there are steps, they do go pretty quick and this entire dish was ready in under 30 minutes. This recipe will serve 6 people and you can either plate it family style on a large serving platter or on individual appetizer plates.

How do you make the crusty bread?

To make the crusty toast points that accompany this appetizer, you'll need 12 thin slices of Italian bread, melted butter and grated Pecorino Romano Cheese. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F; then combine the butter and cheese in a small bowl.

Brush the butter mixture onto both sides of the bread; then place on baking sheet and cook 5-7 minutes, flipping halfway through until both sides are toasted. Remove from the oven and cool, but leave the oven on.

How do you make the tomatoes?

While the bread is toasting, you'll want to prepare the tomatoes. I used a mixture of red, yellow and orange colored cherry tomatoes to give it added color dimensions; then cut them in half.

Place them in a bowl; then add fresh chopped basil, balsamic vinegar, EVOO, Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Allow to rest until you're ready to plate.

do you fry the Mozzarella and Prosciutto?

Technically you do fry the cheese, but only for a few minutes; then you bake it. You'll need one pound of fresh mozzarella cut into twelve ½-inch strips, twelve thin slices of Italian prosciutto, and butter.

Wrap each piece of cheese with the prosciutto and repeat for all. Melt the butter in a large stainless steel skillet; then add the wrapped cheese to the pan.

Cook for 1-2 minutes per side to sear the prosciutto; then place the pan in the oven. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the cheese starts to melt and is hot. Remove the pan from the oven with an OVEN MITT, the handle WILL BE HOT!

How do you assemble the plate?

Now it's time to assemble the plate. I'm excited aren't you? First, put the tomatoes in the center of the plate, arrange the Mozzarella on top of the tomatoes; then drizzle balsamic vinegar and EVOO around the plate and top with the toasted bread.

You can garnish with some more chopped fresh basil to give it a little more color; then serve warm.

OH. MY. GOODNESS. This Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella was AH-MAZING! Can you tell? I'm using all caps to get my point across. ?Both my husband and I both work from home and one of the benefits of that is we get to eat stuff like this for lunch when it's ready.

We both agreed that it tasted just like The Capital Grille's version and I'll definitely be making this recipe again. Most of the time I decide to cook on a whim or if the sun is out so that I can get a good photo.

He never knows what or when I'll be whipping up something in the kitchen, but he was certainly glad I made this recipe. ~Enjoy!

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