Pear and Prosciutto Sandwich

As I mentioned in one of my earlier post, I will be posting more sandwich recipes...so here goes another one...

This one is made with fresh pear and prosciutto as well as wild arugula and percorino romano cheese.  I also spread one side of the bread with dijon mustard and the other side with pear jam.  The result is a perfect combination of sweet and savory goodness bursting in my mouth...



I would never have dreamed of using both dijon mustard and jam in one sandwich until I found this wonderful recipe from myrecipes.com (original recipe here).  I modified it liberally to make use of ingredients that are readily available or I have on hand.  Well, that and the fact that fresh is not yet available on the market.

I was talking to the produce guy at WholeFoods and was told that it might be a couple or so weeks before they will get a batch of fresh figs...Oh, I cannot wait since I like them a lot. I wonder if they are already available at Costco...hmmm... I do dread going there though because I always end up with a lot of things that I really do not need, such as a huge container of canola oil...thinking out loud again...lol



The sandwich is perfect as it contains a lot of ingredients -bread, pears, cheese, cold cuts, veggies...a balance and complete meat...hehehe....not sure about it being a balance meal but it sure does taste good...hehehe

I used prosciutto di Parma which were thinly sliced by the deli guy at Monsieur Marcel's. This particular prosciutto is made in the city of Parma, Italy which is very famous not only for their prosciutto but also parmigiano reggiano cheese.  Prociutto di Parma is one of the most reknowned prosciutto variety but also pricier than others but not that much though.  If I am not mistaken, the difference is only a little over a dollar per pound.  I am not too sure though as I always buy di Parma.



The bread that I used for this sandwich is a rustic panini bread but feel free to use any bread of your choice.  Just lightly toast it and then spread dijon mustard on one slice and jam on the other slice.  Speaking of jam, I used St. Dalfour gourmet pear jam. This is the first time I am trying this brand.  At about $4 for a 14 oz.bottle, it was worth every penny that I spent on this baby as the taste is like no other that I have tried.



Ingredients:

bread

slices of prosciutto di Parma

wild arugula

shaved pecorino romano

dijon mustard

pear jam

pear, washed thoroughly and then thinly sliced with skin on


1. lightly toast bread

2. spread one side of bread with dijon mustard and the other with pear jam

3. Arrange some wild arugula on one side of the bread, top with prosciutto, then a layer of sliced pear.

4. Top with shaved perorino romano and cover with the other slice of bread.

4. serve immediately.

NOTE: If you wish to place it in a panini press to make it into a panini, you can also do so.  It also taste delicious that way.

Linguine Fini in Creamy Arugula-Walnut Pesto Sauce with Crispy Prosciutto

I went grocery shopping yesterday, the second time for the week, and bought prosciutto di parma, arugula, walnuts and other basic ingredients. I could not wait to get home as I already have something in mind that I wanted to eat. Went home and started making arugula-walnut pesto which is a variation on the original pesto sauce with the substitution of arugula and walnuts in place of basil and pine nuts. It is a less pricey alternative to the expensive pine nuts and basil (darn, I need to grown my own as these babies are getting pricier each time I shop for them)and pine nuts but taste just as good. Arugula usually has a rich, peppery taste but surprisingly mellows when placed in combination with the other ingredients in pesto sauce.

After I finished making the pesto sauce, I proceeded to making a creamy pesto pasta with crispy prosciutto. Uhhmmm...yummy good. Nothing can beat a crispy piece of pork, right? Prosciutto di parma is a little bit pricey at $20+++ per pound but so worth it. I usually like to wrap it in around melon slices and eat as an appetizer...ahhh, that one taste heavenly...hehehe. Prosciuttio is Italian for ham. Some of the most famous places where prosciutto are made includes Parma and San Daniele. It makes one think what is up with these Italians and food, right? Hahaha, they must have been blessed by the food gods or something. Anyways, the creamy pesto is quite easy to make and didn't take me long to finish the dish.



Ingredients:

Arugula Pesto Sauce:
2 cups fresh arugula leaves, stems removed
1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup walnuts
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place walnuts andarugula in food processor.
2. Process until it is grinded. Scrape the sides with spatula.
3. Add olive oil in steady stream while continuing to process using a food processor.
4. Add garlic and grated parmigiano reggiano. Blend until well incorporated.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Transfer to a container then set aside

Pasta:

1/2 lb linguine fini

1. Bring a pan of water to a boil. Add salt and oil before adding pasta.
2. Cook according to direction.
3. Save some of the pasta water before draining water from pasta using a colander.
4. Set aside.

Creamy Pesto Sauce with Crispy Prosciutto:

3-4 pieces of prosciutto
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup arugula walnut pesto sauce
2/3 cup heavy cream


1. Heat pan over medium low and add olive oil. Fry prosciutto until crispy then remove from heat and transfer to paper towel lined plate.
2. Discard all but 1 Tbsp of the oil from the same pan where you fried prosciutto.
3. Add pesto sauce and heat gently.
4. When pesto sauce has warmed thoroughly, add cream. Mix well to make sure that pesto is incorporated well into the cream.
5. Simmer for 2 minutes before tossing pasta in. Coat pasta with the sauce.
6. Remove from heat and transfer to a serving dish.
7. Top with crispy prosciutto.