Favorite Uses of Prosciutto

For me...proscuitto wrapped around slices of cantaloupe as an appetizer.

Yum


You?

On a long roll with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, some EVOO, and a touch of balsamic.

Little bit of heaven on a roll.



Mike

I am presently traveling through Umbria, and a couple of days ago I had a delicious appetizer with baked prunes wrapped in smoked panchetta.... YUMMMMM! Here is a picture:

Back in the day ...

Chicken, garlic and prosciutto with a simple green salad (say it, "iceberg lettuce with a salt, oil and vinegar dressing") on the side. A good crusty loaf of Italian bread is a must as well.

We'd portion a chicken into small pieces, leaving the skin on, throw it all into a pot with some olive oil, and then sauté it along with many whole cloves of garlic and chopped prosciutto. Because of the prosciutto, you really didn't need any salt. One could sprinkle in some oregano and fresh cracked, black pepper if one were of a mind. You have to keep turning this stuff so it doesn't burn. It comes out fairly dry. This also works with rabbit.

Nowadays the health conscious in our family use cubed skinless, boneless breasts for this, but that's kind of like kissing your sister.

For me...proscuitto wrapped around slices of cantaloupe as an appetizer.

Yum


You?

If you like that, try the melon replaced with kiwi fruit. Try to get one that's not overripe, as the acid freshness in the Kiwi works wonders with the prosciutto.

My first thought thoug, was the old (and presumably cliched, but I still like it) wrapping of the prosciutto around Cod etc. when oven baking.

regards

Ian

We make a pasta side dish that uses pesto, sun dried tomatoes, cream, and prosciutto.

Paninni.

I like it wrapped around monkfish and sauteed, too. Heck, I'd pretty much eat prociutto wrapped around my finger.

rwj

I am presently traveling through Umbria, and a couple of days ago I had a delicious appetizer with baked prunes wrapped in smoked prosciutto.... YUMMMMM! Here is a picture:

Man, I have some nice Oregon prunes on hand. I'll have to try this. Thanks.

rwj

For me...proscuitto wrapped around slices of cantaloupe as an appetizer.

Yum


You?

If you like that, try the melon replaced with kiwi fruit. Try to get one that's not overripe, as the acid freshness in the Kiwi works wonders with the prosciutto.

My first thought thoug, was the old (and presumably cliched, but I still like it) wrapping of the prosciutto around Cod etc. when oven baking.

regards

Ian

Now that sounds like a plan

We make a pasta side dish that uses pesto, sun dried tomatoes, cream, and prosciutto.

Got a recipe you're willing to share...?

I am presently traveling through Umbria, and a couple of days ago I had a delicious appetizer with baked prunes wrapped in smoked prosciutto.... YUMMMMM! Here is a picture:

Paulo - two questions:
Is smoked proscuitto the same as speck?
What else do you think was in that appetizer? Cheese or sauce of some kind? Looks and sounds wonderful.

I am presently traveling through Umbria, and a couple of days ago I had a delicious appetizer with baked prunes wrapped in smoked prosciutto.... YUMMMMM! Here is a picture:

Paulo - two questions:
Is smoked proscuitto the same as speck?
What else do you think was in that appetizer? Cheese or sauce of some kind? Looks and sounds wonderful.

Howie, Hopefully nobody takes away the "o" off the end of my name for this response, but prosciutto is in my experience not smoked. As the name implies, it is air-dried. It comes in two forms, raw (crudo) which is what most of us are familiar with and cooked (cotto) which is kind of like Italian style boiled deli ham where the cooking is done in water or steam. There is no reason from the preservation aspect to smoke a prosciutto, but I guess it can and has been done. Speck, on the other hand, is German and has become part of the Italian cuisine via the north (where all the Italians are really Germans anyway). It is heavily smoked and cured and is sometimes used to replace pancetta which isn't smoked, but air-dried.

[Jenise]

I know this is heresy, but I've never been a fan of the proscuitto and melon combo. What works is the saltiness of the proscuitto, and for me that does compliment the melon but I don't find the melon compliments the proscuitto. I'd rather have my melon with fleur de sel, and eat the proscuitto alone or reserve it for another use.

Favorite way to eat proscuitto? Plain, or as part of an antipasto misto.

Do love it wrapped around asparagus or a piece of fish, as Ian mentions, though.

I am presently traveling through Umbria, and a couple of days ago I had a delicious appetizer with baked prunes wrapped in smoked prosciutto.... YUMMMMM! Here is a picture:

Paulo - two questions:
Is smoked proscuitto the same as speck?
What else do you think was in that appetizer? Cheese or sauce of some kind? Looks and sounds wonderful.

Howie, Hopefully nobody takes away the "o" off the end of my name for this response, but prosciutto is in my experience not smoked. As the name implies, it is air-dried. It comes in two forms, raw (crudo) which is what most of us are familiar with and cooked (cotto) which is kind of like Italian style boiled deli ham where the cooking is done in water or steam. There is no reason from the preservation aspect to smoke a prosciutto, but I guess it can and has been done. Speck, on the other hand, is German and has become part of the Italian cuisine via the north (where all the Italians are really Germans anyway). It is heavily smoked and cured and is sometimes used to replace pancetta which isn't smoked, but air-dried.

It's my impression that prosciutto is unsmoked by definition. It's cured in salt and then air-dried, but if it's smoked, it's no longer prosciutto.

Mike

Prosciutto wrapped around (skinned) black figs and roasted on a pan. Served with little mascarpone and pepper on top .... really tasty!!
I wish the figs season started already!!!

Francesco

Gary is right. I made a mistake - should be smoked panchetta and not prosciutto!!!!

Prosciutto and Chicken - easy to put together and great for a party - planned or not.
Line a dish with boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded thin (or not - up to you)
Cover the chicken with a nice layer Prosciutto
Cover the Prosciutto with whole sour cream
Bake at 350 or so until done (I guess 30 or 40 minutes depending on whether the chicken is thick or thin) I like the sour cream browned around the edges.
Enjoy
That's it!

Gary is right. I made a mistake - should be smoked panchetta and not prosciutto!!!!

I thought that I saw that in another thread. But you know, it would be killer either way.

rwj

When I was in Italy, Firenze, there was this local pub, Settimo Cielo (seventh heaven), that sold this sciacittini Settimo Cielo. It was the house special. It was simply Mozzarella cheese, Mascarpone, Tomatoes, and Proscuitto sandwhiched between what I would describe as pizza crust. The whole thing was slapped together and heated in a pizza oven, ever so slightly so that the cheese would melt a bit and it would heat up the proscuitto. I had this bad boy everyday for 3 months (@ 4euro a sandwhich it is pretty cheap).

Anyhow, the thing is very tasty (molto bene). If you are ever heading over to Firenze message me and I will give you directions.

Ciao,
-Joe A.