Not being a chef myself, I am always very amazed at what chefs can create with a few  ingredients. I visited a few of my favorite blog/websites to see what the owners have created with prosciutto.
Here are the results of my research! Enjoy!

By La Tartine Gourmande:

• Prosciutto, St Maure and Pear Tartines
• Black Raddish and its Proscuitto Rose
• Prosciutto, Radish and Honey Tartine, Fennel and Zucchini Salad

By Donna Hay:

• Prosciutto-wrapped leek

By Smitten Kitchen:

• Fennel, prosciutto and pomegranate salad

By Traveler’s Lunch Box:

• Prosciutto e Melone, Kicked Up a Notch

If you know of interesting prosciutto recipes, or have  your own, don’t hesitate to post the links in reply to this message.

If you ever try any of ther recipes above, please let me know if it tastes as good as it looks! I will be trying a few myself. And I will update you on the matter.

Have a great week-end!

When I mentionned we were covering Prosciutto di Parma this week, Stefano Leone so kindly sent me these pictures of one of his culinary creations with Prosciutto di Parma:

Ossobuco, sweetbread terrine wrapped in Prosciutto di Parma with orange sauce verrina, mostarda.

Stefano loves pairing this dish with a Gabriel Meffre, Cotes du Rhône AOC – Expression Pierres Brisées, 2006 France which is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault, a crimson robe with purple nuances, an enticing nose of fresh fruits and spices notes. Savory and elegant, finishing by a charming spicy sensation.

Comfort food – Soul satisfying
Cooking and music are alike, in that a finished dish and a performance depend on an element of improvisation which is never part of the recipe or score. When this goes right, the results are magical.

It is the magic that matter!

This is for you!”

Stefano Leone

At home, Paolo is the one that enjoys cooking the most. I am usually the designated assistant and assembler, and of course the eater!

This evening, Paolo and I made this very homey pasta dish with prosciutto di parma. Nothing too fancy, a nice feel good meal, but soooo tasty!

Since it is prosciutto week on the blog, I decided to snap some pics, and share the recipe with you.

Appetizer:

Prosciutto wrapped around hand rolled grissini’s on a bed of mixed greens and Dwarf Truffled Peaches.

Pasta: Fusilli with peas, cubed prosciutto “crudo” (raw) and Burrata.

1. Fusilli were tossed in onions sauted in butter
2. We added steamed peas, cubed Prosciutto and Burrata
3. and served immediately!

As for wine, we like them with a lot of  “body” and depth. Most of the times we find one that we like and we drink it with all of our meals until we find something that we like again so we move on to the next one. Presently the Barbaresco is what we have been enjoying accompanied with our meals, and that is what we had tonight.

Since prosciutto is so salty, salt is not something or rarely something that needs to be added. the beauty of prosciutto is that it is so versatile and very easy to cook with, it works practically with any vegetable, with cream sauce, wine sauce and even in tomatoe sauce.

A Macchi tradition is also to stuff the Christmas turkey with prosciutto, we always fight over the prosciutto as soon as we sit down on the table. Unfortunately, Paolo and my brothers-in-law usually get the most of it. I am not good at fighting, but I do have other qualities

Traditionally cantaloupe and figs are served with prosciutto but since we are such huge fans of the truffled dwarf peaches we tend to use them every chance we get. When there is match of course! Fresh peaches too are a very nice companion to prosciutto. If you wanna be fancy, marinate the quartered peaches in cognac, top with some ricotta cheese and wrap the proscuitto around it. It makes a perfect hors d’oeuvre.

Buon Appetito!

Here are some tips and tricks about prosciutto that I learn over the time and through my experience working with it over the years. I decided to share these with you, as before I came into the business, I would ask myself these questions everytime I find myself in front of a deli counter.

1. How to store prosciutto?

• If the prosciutto is sliced, keep it in the coldest part of the fridge (usually in the bottom), make sure it’s well wrapped/air tight (preferably in plastic) so the edges do not dry.
• For a full piece (not sliced) you can either refrigerate it in fridge or in the freezer. Always make sure the piece is well wrapped to avoid mould in fride or freezer burn.

Here is an expample of how Chef Roberto Stabile will present a plate with parmigiano reggiano:

Prosciutto Appetizer w. figs and Parmigiano reggiano

• Prosciutto friulano riserva
• fresh figs
• arugula salad
• Parmigiano reggiano shavings

Trust me, it tastes just as good as it looks!

Off course the plates change depending on the season and what fruits and vegetables are available on the market. Since the Jean Talon market is practically in the ‘backyard’ of the restaurant, it makes it extremely easy for him to ‘work-as-he-goes’ during the summer season.

As usual, I would be extremely appreciative to hear your thoughts on this and if you get a chance to go and have this there let me know what you think.

Until tomorrow, have a good  one!

Left: Derek Dammann, Top right: Paolo Macchi and Nathalie Rivard: Bottom right: Kim Vallee and Hivron “MrsMacchi” Turanli

On the launch of my Blog, the first product that I introduced was our key product: The Citterio Prosciutto. Kim Vallee sent me a message on twitter and let me know that she had by then only had one kind, of the five kinds of prosciutto that we are supplying and I quickly responded to her and offered her to have a Prosciutto tasting with us over a lunch at restaurant DNA in Montreal. With me I brought my husband and the President of our company Macchi Inc. Paolo Macchi and Kim were accompanied with the all so pleasant foodie friend of hers, Nathalie Rivard. As we all installed our selves at the table, there were 4 cameras and one video camera, one computer and 3 iphones covering our table and I was just thinking; “will there be any room for the plates?”

- Of course, there was !!!

We started our lunch with introducing ourselves, since this was the first time I’ve met with Kim Vallee and her being a veteran in the blogging world and me being a new beginner, there was a lot of excitement on my part. But to think that there would be any kind of silence or awkward moments at the table since this was our first time meeting, is terribly wrong. The conversation was flowing between the four of us and everything was so interesting, from Kim continuously coming up with new ideas of potential new projects and Nathalie’s endless  travelling experience, to Paolo’s  knowledge and family secrets and tips on our products, this would have been for anyone, ease dropping  a “wikipedia heaven”.

Then the first plate arrives and there is an immediate silence!

Executive Chef and part owner Chef Derek Dammann presenting us with Prosciutto (local), Prosciutto San Daniele 18 month and Culatello

Paolo starts explaining about the prosciutto and Nathalie quickly picks up the video camera and starts filming, this is how it went on for  five courses introducing our five kinds of prosciutto “crudo” (raw). This lunch went on for aprox. 4 hours and let me tell you that if we all didn’t have other things to go to after it could have easily gone on for another two hours!

On the picture above we have:

1. Prosciutto, local - Quebec charentes melon, lemon juice, baby basil

2. Prosciutto San Daniele, 18 month – Grilled Ontario peaches, Mint, horseradish

3. Culatello – Fingerling potatoes, mustard vinaigrette, mustard seed, mustard oil, DNA pickles, micro herbs

Throughout the tasting we were enlightened with the presence of Derek Dammann coming to our table explaining the dishes that he had made. The manager and part owner Alex Cruz made sure that his very pleasant and professional serving staff catered to all of our needs and that the water and wine glasses were never left empty at the table. Finished plates were quickly removed and bread basket always filled.

Prosciutto di Parma 24 month, Prosciutto di Parma 14 month and Pork blood and chocolate panna cotta with strawberries

The next two plates that were brought out;

4- Prosciutto di Parma, 24 month – Mostarda di castagne, Mustard greens

5- Prosciutto di Parma, 14 month – Bliss maple vinegar, Parmigiano reggiano shavings

We were now all in a place of complete satisfaction and mutually agreed that the ‘Mostarda di Castagne’ (candied chestnuts flavored with mustard and vanilla), another one of our products, was a perfect way to finish our last plate of prosciutto with.

Thinking that we were now done since we were all very satisfied and not to mention stuffed, Derek comes out asking us if there is any room for desert?

Now to say there was room for more,  wouldn’t be entirely true, but we were a female dominating table and just as they say that you reach a mans heart through his stomach, I think I could comfortably make the statement that you reach a woman’s heart with a good desert, you will at least keep her satisfied!

And he did!

6. Pork blood and chocolate panna cotta with strawberries

In one sentence; Man ( pork blood)  meets woman ( chocolate )!

Tasted like something i’ve never tasted before, and I would recommend everyone to give it a taste on your next visit at DNA Restaurant.

I would like to end this by thanking Kim Vallee, Nathalie Rivard and Paolo Macchi for a really enjoyable lunch and to give Derek Dammann and Alex Cruz a standing ovation, not only for this specific day but for always making us and whom ever we are accompanied with, leave their restaurant extremely happy and content.

Thank You!

-MrsMacchi-