- 1 tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons white wine
- ¹/₃ cup sugar
- 3¹/₃ cups bread crumbs
- ½ tablespoon garlic oil
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
- 1 pound caciocavallo or pecorino cheese (“Cheese on horseback”)
- 1 egg, beaten
- Vegetable oil for deep frying

To make the sauce, put the vinegar and wine into a pan with the sugar and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Take off the heat and keep to one side. Put the bread crumbs, garlic oil and oregano into a blender and whiz until the herbs are finely chopped and the bread crumbs are infused in the oil. Cut the cheese into pieces about ½ inch thick. The thickness is important, otherwise the cheese won’t melt.

Have the beaten egg and herby bread crumbs ready in two shallow bowls, then pass the strips of cheese through the egg and dip them into the bread crumbs, turning to coat them. Repeat this three times for each strip, so that you end up with quite a thick coating of bread crumbs.

Heat some oil in a pan (make sure the pan is big enough so that the oil comes no more than a third of the way up). It should be 350°F. If you don’t have a thermometer, test that it is hot enough by putting in a few bread crumbs. If they sizzle right away, the oil is ready. Deep-fry the cheese strips, in batches if necessary, for 2 minutes, until golden on all sides, and serve with the sauce.