Posted by Lucy Baker, May 1, 2008 at 5:00 PM
Everyone has ingredients they can't resist. Favorite foods that are always kept on hand; items that, when spotted on restaurant menus make a dish impossible not to order. For my mother, it's artichoke hearts. For my boyfriend, it's bacon. For me, it's fennel. Fronds, shavings, wedges—I love the crunchy, sweet, licorice-flavored vegetable in all its incarnations.
Today's Cook the Book recipe, excerpted from Lidia's Italy, is for Baked Fennel with Prosciutto. This Roman dish is straight from the heart of Italian cooking, combining best-quality ingredients with simple preparation methods. Toss everything together hours ahead, store it in the fridge, and then pop it in then oven a bit before dinner.
Salty Prosciutto, fragrant cheese, sweet fennel, and a drizzle of butter. Who could resist that?
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Posted by Robyn Lee, February 27, 2008 at 12:00 PM
The following recipe is from the February 27th edition of our weekly recipe newsletter. To receive this newsletter in your inbox, sign up here!
Simon Hopkinson's book Roast Chicken and Other Stories has been called "the most useful cookbook of all time." One of the book's recipes is for Chez Panisse's prosciutto with warm wilted greens, a simple dish of greens dressed in shallot and garlic-flavored vinaigrette wrapped in thin slices of prosciutto.
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Posted by Ed Levine, April 16, 2007 at 1:30 PM
The recipe that follows has been adapted from Nancy Silverton's A Twist of the Wrist
. Frozen peas are so tender and sweet that I use them all year round. If you can't find orecchiette, use rigatoni or bow-tie pasta.
Cook the Book: Orecchiette with Peas, Prosciutto, and Crème Fraîche
Ingredients
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for the pasta water
8 ounces orecchiette
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, grated or minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 cup frozen petite peas (about 4 ounces)
1 cup crème fraîche (or sour cream)
6 thin slices prosciutto (about 3 ounces), torn in half
12 small basil leaves
Procedure
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and add a generous amount of kosher salt. Stir in the orecchiette, return the water to a boil, and cook the pasta, stirring occcasionally too prevent it from sticking together, until it's al dente. (Since cooking times vary depending on the thickness of the pasta, refer to the package instructions for the recommended time and taste the pasta for doneness frequently while it cooks.)
2. While the water is coming to a boil and the pasta is cooking, heat the oil, garlic, and a pinch of kosher salt in a large skillet over medium-high heat and saute until the garlic is soft and fragrant, about 1 1/2 minutes. stirring constantly so the garlic doesn't brown. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the peas, creme fraiche, and the 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute, until the sauce is warmed through.
3. Reserve 1/3 cup of the pasta water, drain the pasta and transfer it quickly, while it's still dripping with water, to the skillet with the sauce. Add the reserved pasta water, stir to coat the pasta with the sauce and cook the pasta and sauce together over high heat for about 2 minutes, until the ingredients are combined.
4. Spoon the pasta out of the skillet and pile it into high mounds on four plates, dividing it evenly. Spoon the sauce left in the skillet over the pasta. Rumple 3 pieces of prosciutto and lay 3 basil leaves over each serving.
Photograph from iStockPhoto.com
