If heaven had a broiler - grilled mozzarella with crunchy bread, bacon, & lemon/olive dressing

This week's book seems like it should have been rife with bloggable recipes since it's the ever present Jamie Oliver. However, I had a hard time - in so many of recipes the ingredients sounded good, but the preparation was not doing it for me (wine poached filet mignon), or they were desserts (the only recipe I had prepared before was a phyllo encrusted pear stuffed with almondy chocolate - amazing, but not what I was looking for).

I've looked at this recipe each time I crack this book, but have never made it - mostly because of my fear of the cheese just oozing everywhere and burning based on this photo. I'm not afraid anymore.

---

Ingredients:

1 loaf of ciabatta bread

8 strips of thin sliced bacon (or pancetta)

zest of 2 lemons

4 large buffalo mozzarella cheese (I used the smaller balls - see pic below)

8 sticks of fresh rosemary

1 clove of garlic (ok...3)

olive oil

3 handfuls of mixed fresh herbs (chives, chervil, mint, basil, parsley) [I omitted the herb side salad]

Dressing:

1 good handful of nice black olives, pits removed [I used kalamatas]

1 fresh red chili, deseeded & finely chopped [red chilis were nowhere to be found - I used chili flakes]

5 TB lemon juice

5 TB olive oil

salt/pepper

---

Remove the crusts from the ciabatta [oops] and tear up into rough 1 inch pieces. Throw into a bowl with the bacon and cheese pieces. Keep the ends of the rosemary sticks, remove all lower leaves, then smash in mortar/pestle with the garlic [or, chop it all up finely]. Stir in 8 TB olive oil and lemon zest [I would add salt and pepper next time]. Pour over bread/bacon/cheese mix in bowl. Allow to marinate for 15 minutes to 1 hour. [This would be a good time to dip an errant mozzarella ball into the bowl you made the marinade in]

Thread mozzarella and bread onto rosemary sticks, weaving the bacon in and around. Put kebabs on wire rack on a baking sheet and place under the broiler on high heat [I didn't use the top rack of the oven - I used the middle]. Broil until bread and bacon are crisp and cheese is oozy.

To make the dressing, chop up the olives and mix with the chili and equal amounts lemon juice and olive oil. Season to taste.

If making salad, dress with half the dressing and toss. Pour the rest of dressing over the kebabs.

I served alongside Ina's Truffle Pasta.

These are light, herby, olivey, bites of deliciousness. We will definitely be making them again! The only thing that I'd try next time would be to par cook the bacon a bit until it's cooked, but still flexible - then, when the kebabs cook the bacon could get crispier before risking the bread/cheese burning. If you come to dinner at my house, there's a good chance these will be served! If you're too far away to come for dinner - make these!