***The Europe photos will be ready in the next few days! Brad is working hard to get them ready for the web. In the meantime, I thought I'd share one of my favorite pasta dishes from the trip.
While we were in Italy, this quickly became one of my favorite things to order. It seemed like almost every restaurant had a version of this dish. And I know why...it is DELISH! Of course, any pasta with a cream-based sauce isn't the healthiest thing you can eat, but come on...this is worth it! My love for prosciutto has grown exponentially since the trip...hah. This recipe is one of the reasons. Prosciutto is widely used in Europe...they eat it for breakfast, on sandwiches, in pasta, etc. I LOVE it! I only wish it were easier to find in Alabama!
This is my first attempt at re-creating the recipe. It came really close. Not surprisingly, any pasta dish just tastes better when you're sitting in a cozy ristorante in Venice...just steps away from the Grand Canal, perhaps with a musician softly playing an accordion down the street. Fresh, handmade pasta would also make this dish even better. I took a short-cut tonight and used pre-packaged ravioli.
This is my first attempt at re-creating the recipe. It came really close. Not surprisingly, any pasta dish just tastes better when you're sitting in a cozy ristorante in Venice...just steps away from the Grand Canal, perhaps with a musician softly playing an accordion down the street. Fresh, handmade pasta would also make this dish even better. I took a short-cut tonight and used pre-packaged ravioli.
Buon appetito!***
Ingredients:
4 tbsp butter
4 oz. prosciutto, torn or chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup parmesan, grated
1 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 pkg Buitoni Four Cheese Ravioli
Directions:
Cook the ravioli in boiling water according to package directions, adding about 1 tbsp. olive oil to the pasta water to prevent them from sticking together.
Cook the ravioli in boiling water according to package directions, adding about 1 tbsp. olive oil to the pasta water to prevent them from sticking together.
Melt the butter for the sauce in a large sauce pan over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the prosciutto and mushrooms. Sauté for about 4-5 minutes, stirring often.
Add the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Allow the cream to reduce. Stir in the parmesan cheese.
When the pasta is done cooking, add the pasta to the sauce and cook for 1 minute more. Add a little more cream if needed.
Serve with additional grated parmesan.
Source: Two Yolks food blog (I used this recipe as a base and altered it slightly)
Comments
If you want to make it a little bit simpler, you can make it with fettucini instead of tortellini or ravioli. It also is quite good if you add some frozen peas to it (and you can then claim you're eating some form of vegetable).