Dining with the King of cured meat
A true delight to the palate, His Majesty the Parma Prosciutto, in view of his innate regality and excellence, “requires”that he be not only tasted but truly savoured. For gourmets and those who delight in fine dining, Prosciutto of Parma lends itself to every occasion and in every guise for all different types of meal.
In order to illustrate this, we present here an entire menu, which can be simply and easily prepared where raw Parma ham is the absolute star.
Baskets of Melon with Prosciutto from Parma
Ingredients for 4 people:
8 ready made short crust pastry baskets
1 melon
300g of raw Parma ham
some leaves of green salad for decoration
2 spoons of mayonnaise
1 spoon of black olive paste
½ spoon of ground paprika
salt
Prepare melon balls using the appropriate appliance and season them with salt and paprika. Place two slices of ham and some of the melon balls in each pastry basket. Mix the mayonnaise with the olive paste. Garnish each basket with some salad and the olive mayonnaise mix. Serve chilled.
Risotto with figs and Parma Prosciutto
Ingredients for 4 people
320 g of risotto rice (Carnaroli)
6 ripe green figs
50 g of butter
dry white wine
50 g finely chopped onion
1 litre clear vegetable broth
100 g of raw Parma ham, possibly in one slice
curry, salt, pepper
Lightly cook the chopped onion in butter. Add the rice and toast gently, add the white wine, let it evaporate and add the hot broth slowly as necessary until the rice is cooked. When the rice is ready add the peeled figs cut into cubes and the ham cut into julienne strips. Mix and put in serving dishes, letting it cool down slightly. Dust with curry powder and pepper, then serve.
Millefeuille with Parma Prosciutto and Fontina cheese
Ingredients for 6-8 people:
500 g puff pastry
300 g thick cut Parma raw Prosciutto
250 g Fontina cheese
Egg yolk to glaze pastry
Bechamel sauce ( ½ lt milk, 40 g flour, 2 egg yolks, salt, pepper nutmeg)
Prepare the béchamel.
Away from the flame add the yolks and mix carefully; allow to cool. Roll out half the pastry in a rectangular shape and place it on the greased oven tray covered with grease proof paper.
Cut the ham into strips and slice the cheese thinly. Place a layer of ham, one of fontina and one of béchamel on to the pastry base.
Repeat the operation leaving the borders open, then with the remaining pastry cover the final layer and pinch the edges together with a fork.
Decorate the top with a knife blade and glaze with egg yolk. Place in the fridge for an hour, then cook in a preheated oven at 200° for about 40 minutes.
Multi-coloured salad
Ingredients for 4 people:
300 g raw Parma ham
3 bunches of rocket salad
1 pomegranate
extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper and lemon
Wash the rocket and cut into strips. Add the pomegranate seeds. In a bowl prepare the citronette beating together oil, lemon, salt and pepper. In a serving dish arrange the ham on one side and the green salad mix on the other. Add the condiment at the moment of serving.
Dried fruit with Prosciutto
Ingredients for 4 people:
200 g raw Prosciutto from Parma
1 packet of dried apricots
4 slices of dried pineapple
a handful of nuts
a handful of dried figs
½ glass of sweet Malvasia from the Parma hills
4 slices of toasted brown bread
2 pots of plain yogurt
Chop the dried fruit, add the wine and leave to macerate for some hours.
With the ham and fruit mixture form small parcels to serve with the toast and plain yogurt.
Pineapple with raw Prosciutto from Parma
Ingredients for 4 people:
200 g raw Prosciutto from Parma
1 medium sized ripe pineapple
Cut the pineapple in four pieces and then cut each piece into slices eliminating the hard core but leaving the skin which will be the serving dish. Place half a slice of ham between the slices of pineapple. Serve chilled.