Prosciutto is a famous Italian ham made from shredded pork belly sea ​​salt. This deli meat Usually served as an appetizer with wine or prepared with it for pizza and bruschetta. We have chosen six simple recipes Very delicious salads, snacks and pastas. Of course, they didn’t forget about pizza either.

Salad with peas and prosciutto

Green salad with mustard-lemon dressing - a great idea for a light dinner. And it’s ready in just ten minutes.

• RECIPE COMPLEXITY: low
• COOKING TIME: 10 minutes
• NUMBER OF SERVINGS: 4 servings
• CALORIES: 350 kcal

Ingredients

• Peas (fresh or frozen) 560 g
• Peas (sweet green fresh or frozen) 340 g
• Ham (prosciutto slices) 110 g
• Arugula 110 g
• Cheese (grated Parmesan) 20 g
• Oil (olive) 3 tbsp. l.
• Lemon (juice) 1 tbsp. l.
• Mustard (Dijon) ½ tsp.
• Salt to taste

1. Whisk in a bowl lemon juice with mustard. Gradually add olive oil. Finally, add salt and pepper and stir again.
2. Cook all the peas in a large pot of boiling water. The cooking time should not be longer than 2-3 minutes. After this, quickly transfer the peas to ice water so that they do not boil. Drain the water and dry the peas with a towel.
3. In a large bowl, combine arugula, peas and dressing.
4. Transfer the salad to a serving plate, top with prosciutto and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

Asparagus with prosciutto

Ideal for a party or watching a movie.

• RECIPE COMPLEXITY: low
• COOKING TIME: 15 minutes
• NUMBER OF SERVINGS: 15 servings
• CALORIES: 70 kcal

Ingredients

• Asparagus 300 g
• Ham (prosciutto) 15 slices
• Cheese (grated Parmesan) 30 g
• Oil (olive) 1-2 tbsp. l.
• Lemon (zest) pinch
• Pepper (ground black) to taste
• Salt to taste

1. Wash and dry the asparagus.
2. Cut the prosciutto lengthwise into two pieces.
3. Wrap each asparagus spear in prosciutto.
4. Line a baking sheet parchment paper. Place asparagus with prosciutto, drizzle with olive oil and season lemon zest, salt and pepper. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
5. After cooking, sprinkle the finished asparagus with grated Parmesan.

Pizza with prosciutto

To save time on pizza preparation, use a ready-made base. But if you decide to make the dough yourself, then here is the best one the right recipe.

• RECIPE COMPLEXITY: medium
• COOKING TIME: 30 minutes
• NUMBER OF SERVINGS: 10 servings
• CALORIES: 180 kcal

Ingredients

• Dough (pizza base) 1 pc.
• Ham (prosciutto) 3 slices
• Arugula 1 cup
• Cheese (mozzarella, small balls) 125 g
• Cheese (Parmesan) 30 g
• Tomatoes (cherry) 3-4 pcs.
• Garlic 1 clove
• Mint (fresh) 1 sprig
• Oil (olive) 1 tbsp. l.
• Pepper (paprika) ½ tsp.
• Pepper (ground black) to taste
• Salt to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Chop the mint and place in a large bowl.
3. Add olive oil and finely chopped garlic. Stir.
4. Thinly slice the prosciutto lengthwise.
5. Grate the cheese on a fine grater.
6. Cut the tomatoes and mozzarella in half.
7. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
8. Place pizza base on parchment paper.
9. Top with arugula, prosciutto, tomatoes and mozzarella. Add Parmesan, paprika and pour over the prepared mint and garlic oil.
10. Bake the pizza for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot.

Eggs with avocado and prosciutto

If you have some boiled meat left in the refrigerator and you don’t know what to do with it, prepare this appetizer. You will be pleasantly surprised.

• RECIPE COMPLEXITY: low
• COOKING TIME: 10 minutes
• NUMBER OF SERVINGS: 12 servings
• CALORIES: 102 kcal

Ingredients

• Eggs (hard-boiled) 6 pcs.
• Avocado (ripe) 1 pc.
• Ham (prosciutto) 3 slices
• Yogurt (Greek) 2 tbsp. l.
• Mustard 1 tbsp. l.
• Lemon (juice) 1 tsp.
• Salt to taste
• Pepper (ground black) to taste

1. Cut the eggs in half and remove the yolks.
2. In a bowl, mix the yolks, avocado pulp, Greek yogurt, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper until smooth.
3. Slice the prosciutto into small pieces.
4. Fill the egg white halves with the mixture. Place pieces of prosciutto on top. Serve the dish immediately or store in the refrigerator.

Pasta with mushrooms and prosciutto

For this dish it is best to use a wide egg paste pappardelle or fettuccine.

• RECIPE COMPLEXITY: medium
• COOKING TIME: 25 minutes
• NUMBER OF SERVINGS: 4 servings
• CALORIES: 550 kcal

Ingredients

• Pasta (pappardelle or fettuccine) 350 g
• Mushrooms (chanterelles) 500 g
• Ham (prosciutto) 6 slices
• Onion (shallot) 2 pcs.
• Broth (chicken) 1 cup
• Cheese (curd) ⅓ cup
• Oil (olive) ¼ cup + 2 tbsp. l.
• Butter (butter) 2 tbsp. l.
• Thyme 1 tsp.
• Pepper (ground black) to taste
• Salt to taste

1. Heat the pan well, add ¼ cup olive oil and prosciutto. Fry over medium heat for about 5 minutes, turning constantly.
2. Transfer the prosciutto to a towel to remove excess fat.
3. Reheat the pan and add the remaining olive oil and mushrooms. Fry over high heat for 5-8 minutes.
4. Reduce heat and add finely chopped shallots, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent.
5. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain the water.
6. Place the pasta in the pan with the mushrooms and onions. Add half the chopped prosciutto and pour over chicken broth.
7. Turn the heat to medium and cook for about 2 minutes.
8. Add cottage cheese and stir. Cook for about another minute.
9. Add butter, salt and pepper. Divide among plates and top with remaining slices of toasted prosciutto and thyme.

Quiche with Parmesan and Prosciutto

In the recipe for this open pie no flour is used. Suitable for those who are gluten intolerant and watching calories.

• RECIPE COMPLEXITY: low
• COOKING TIME: 60 minutes
• NUMBER OF SERVINGS: 8 servings
• CALORIES: 270 kcal

Ingredients

• Eggs 5 pcs.
• Ham (prosciutto) 150 g
• Cheese (curd) 1 cup
• Cheese (parmesan, cheddar or shredded swiss) 1 cup
• Salt 1 tsp.

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream cheese and salt.
3. Add prosciutto and grated cheese. Mix well again.
4. Transfer the finished mixture into a rimmed pan and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes.

Source

Similar materials

Do you believe that only from castrated Duroc boars, which were fed exclusively on chestnuts with fruit and fed with whey from the production of Parmesan, only in one single place on earth, where “the ideal microclimate creates all the conditions for the ripening of dry-cured hams” and where “the breeze blows from a certain speed and strength, without which it is impossible to obtain real Parma ham,” will it be possible to make the best ham in the world?

Taken from aquatek_filips V

Whether it’s possible or not is not for me to judge, but the masters of prosciutto production, as the famous parma ham, they claim that it is exactly as stated above. Only the right wild boars, only feeding with delicacies and only in the town of Langirano with its perfect breeze...
And then you will get the best and most famous ham in the world.

Well, okay, let’s leave the breeze and the diet of wild boars to the specialists, it’s better to see how the ham itself is made, when the wild boar has already been raised, fattened, sent to the land of eternal hunting and two hams have already been cut from it...

2. I’ll leave all my skepticism outside the scope of this post and tell you what we were told at the production of Parma ham, so to speak, without cuts..
Prosciutto production specialists say that the most important thing in their business is the microclimate of the Parma Valley and the experience developed over centuries of producing the best ham in the world.
This zone, stretching all the way to the Apennines, is located 22 kilometers south of Parma, near the small town of Langirano. Only here the unique microclimate creates ideal conditions for the ripening of dry-cured hams.
There is no single producer of Parma ham. Several ham producers are concentrated in the vicinity of Langhirano, and only their products can be called Prosciutto di Parma.

3. To see the production of ham, we came to the Salumificio La Perla factory.
Despite the fact that this is the outskirts of Parma, the workers ardently support Juventus of Turin! But I digress...

4. To be called Parma ham, the product must meet the conditions established by law, namely: Parma ham can only be produced in the region of Parma, from the meat of pigs that were born and raised in Italy, 100% natural products must be used in the production of the ham Ingredients.
For the production of ham, pigs aged 9-10 months are used, raised in the regions of Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, Veneto and Marche. The breeds are called Duroc or Landrace. They are fed grains, chestnuts and whey from the production of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

5. The weight of the pig should be 100-130 kg, and the weight of the leg should be 15-16 kg. If the weight of the leg exceeds 16 kg, then it is cut and placed in parts in a mesh - from them a slightly different prosciutto will be made.
First of all, the meat is salted. Before salting, pork legs undergo cooling: they are kept in the refrigerator at a temperature of 2 degrees for 24 hours. Salting is carried out in two stages and is done manually, which allows the salt to be evenly distributed over the entire surface of the carcass. The first stage of salting lasts a week, after which the salt is carefully removed from the product and salted with sea salt for twenty days. After this period, the salt is completely removed.

6. In more or less large-scale industries, salt is removed using brushes on special equipment

7. After the salting has taken place and the meat has been cleared of salt, it is hung on special frames and sent to the refrigerator to rest.

8. The meat is washed...

9. ... and hanged

10. The hams rest in a refrigerator with a temperature of + 5-6 degrees for about 100 days.

11. By the end of the rest, it looks like this: the fat edges become yellowish in color, and the cut line is a hard crust.

15. Of great importance here are windows that open every day at different distances and at different angles depending on weather conditions.
The same breeze should blow across the meat!

16. After seven months, the part of the pig's legs that is not covered with skin is coated with a special paste called sugna ("fat"). It consists of fat, salt, rice flour and pepper.

17. And after that he will hang for another 5 months...

18. ...all also in a room with windows that open according to a given schedule to let in the desired breeze

21. In rooms where hams are hung, temperature and humidity are carefully controlled. These parameters are extremely important for proper ripening

22. It is interesting that in many enterprises for the production of Parma ham, not only the hams of the enterprise itself are hung, but also the meat of clients is dried. They bring “their” legs, put special marks on the hams and then work with them according to a general algorithm, together with other client and own hams

24. And now comes the most important moment: the prosciutto is checked for quality.
This is done by a special inspector and only he has the right to decide whether the ham can be labeled as “Parma ham”.

25. They check the ham for maturity using a special bone needle stick, which I talked about yesterday mystery .
The leg of pork is pierced at five specific points, and based on the smell remaining on the sticks, the inspector determines whether the product can be called Parma ham.

26. If the inspector considers that everything is in order and the ham is ripe, it is stamped in the form of a crown with the inscription “Parma”.
Naturally, every leg is checked without exception!

27. Now hams can be returned to customers, sent to customers and... eaten)

28. Well, the classic form of serving Parma ham - with melon and cool Lambrusco...

Among the culinary “novelties” mastered by our compatriots, the leading place is occupied by delicacies Italian cuisine. Probably, the inhabitants of this vibrant country are close to us - if not in spirit, then in their food preferences. Even if someone doesn’t like pizza, he is quite capable of choosing some delicacy from Italian cuisine that will conquer the picky eater for the rest of his life.

Among these stomach-churning discoveries is prosciutto. Not everyone knows what it is, but many people would be happy for themselves if they tried it.

Italian lard

Of course, calling this delicacy that way is rude and unfair. Prosciutto doesn't deserve that name. That this is a variety of bacon or ham is beyond doubt, but it is a very distinguished ham.

The history of prosciutto is lost in the darkness of centuries. It is certain that it already existed in the times of Ancient Rome, but since then it has greatly improved in taste. Some analogues exist among many nationalities: the Spaniards praise jamon, the French consider jambon the pinnacle of ham taste, but only the Italians have truly achieved perfection.

Manufacturing Features

Subtleties and tricks begin with the maintenance and fattening of cattle going to prosciutto. There is no doubt that this affects the taste of the final product. For any type of this ham, pigs are fattened with fruits and acorns, but in each prosciutto-producing province there are secrets even in the diet of the animals. One of the secrets revealed by Parma is that they feed the pigs there with the whey left over from the production of Parma cheese. As a result, the prosciutto of this province has a completely different taste from other areas.

The same goes for spices. If Parma makes do with sea salt exclusively, then in other places they use pepper and garlic, and in others - specially selected herbs.

Varieties of Prosciutto

Based on the main technological differences, it comes in two types. When prepared as crudo, the pork butt is smoked raw. Moreover, for this variety, pigs are fed mainly with corn and fruits. Smoking takes at least eight months, and in some cases lasts up to two years. Among this category of hams, Cuneo prosciutto stands out. That this is also a crudo is undoubtedly, but this bacon is made using vinegar, although there is not much of it.

The second type of Italian bacon is called cotto. It is first steamed (or fried - it depends on the place of production) and only then smoked, and the second stage is much shorter than in the case of prosciutto crudo.

How to buy quality prosciutto

First of all, when buying Italian lard, you need to carefully study the labeling. The packaging must bear the inscription PDO Prosciutto. If it is not there, most likely it is an imitation, not even made in Italy. Many of these imitations cannot be eaten without frying, and they do not even taste remotely like prosciutto.

It is also advisable to buy it not in a vacuum bag: taste qualities in such packaging they are quickly lost, but the “appearance” remains the same. As a result, you will not get what you were striving for.

If we ignore the inscriptions and packaging, then prosciutto should have a thick layer of fat, and this fat should be white, turning pink at the transition to the meat. Meat layer- not brown, not bright - pink and delicate even in appearance. They'll give you a try - don't refuse. If you feel an unpleasant taste of rancidity, you should not take the product - either it was stored incorrectly, or the expiration date is ending, or this piece was removed from the vacuum film.

Can Italian ham be homemade?

Once you try the famous prosciutto, you really don’t want to give it up. In stores it is often not of very high quality - such ham must be stored in compliance with certain rules. Therefore, many people have a question about whether it is possible to make prosciutto at home? There is only one answer to this: absolutely not! Remember where dry-cured ham begins - with a properly fattened pig. And if you don’t have your own pig farm plus oak forests for collecting acorns, plus the secrets of Italian masters, you won’t be able to get suitable meat for prosciutto. Even in his homeland, not all provinces are entrusted with fattening livestock for the beloved bacon.

And to produce dry-cured pork, you need a smokehouse and skills to work with it. Without a doubt, you can learn, try, acquire necessary equipment and as a result, obtain high-quality ham that is much superior to store-bought varieties. But for prosciutto - only to the Italians!

What to eat with prosciutto

Usually it is consumed just like ham - in thin slices with something. The nuance is that kiwi, figs or melon are served along with prosciutto, which emphasize and highlight its taste.

However, Italians also use their bacon in complex dishes, such as soups. In this case, it is added at the very end of cooking so that it does not lose its unique aroma and does not boil out.

Prosciutto also goes into pizza, which becomes almost festive dish. If it serves as the meat component of a dinner, boiled vegetables like peas or asparagus become a side dish. An interesting dish with prosciutto is the recipe for which our people already liked: they wrap it like a sausage, for example, veal, or vice versa - they “hide” the prosciutto itself in a bread straw or a small melon.

This wonderful ham is also included in salads. One of the most delicious is with arugula, tomatoes and Parmesan. To prepare it, the cheese is rubbed to form an airy mass. The arugula is arranged artistically, the tomatoes are cut into thin slices and placed on top. The mound is sprinkled with cheese, and prosciutto strips are laid out on it. All this richness is flavored with a sauce of mustard, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, herbs, salt and pepper. Tasty until you lose your pulse!

Prosciutto is also a complete dish: a recipe with potatoes and mushrooms. Getting ready for him mashed potatoes, fried on butter mushrooms (such as they are), after which garlic, wine and mustard are added to them. In this form, the mushrooms need to be stewed for a couple of minutes, then add cream - and another couple of minutes. Beef steaks are wrapped in thin strips of prosciutto and grilled on vegetable oil 3 minutes each side. Then the steaks are wrapped in foil, under which they languish on the table for several minutes until you set the table. With puree, mushrooms and lettuce leaves- simply a great dish.

Authentic Parma ham is one of the most famous Italian foods and is often counterfeited. This method exactly replicates the original one, just follow it. It is imperative to follow it and fully use the ingredients to avoid product spoilage and food poisoning!

To make Parma ham you will need:

1 Chill the meat overnight in the refrigerator.

2. Rub half of the meat with the curing mixture.

3. Wrap the meat tightly. (This procedure is designed to prevent the juices from leaking out. It turns out to be an average method of salting meat, between dry and wet).

4. Take out the meat and repeat step 2.

5 Leave the meat for preservation in the refrigerator for another 15 days.

6 Take the meat and put it in warm water for half an hour. (This way we wash it off the salt).

7. Hang the ham in the refrigerator or in a drafty cool room for 6 hours.

8. Hang the ham in a warm room for 3 days.

9. Thoroughly coat the meat side of the ham with the lard and black pepper mixture.

10. Hang the ham for at least 30 days.

at 15 degrees Celsius and 70% relative humidity.

Parma ham

This is a 2 month old leg, it has matured on the bone. If its size is smaller, then it can be preserved in a shorter period of time.

Here's what and how they salt it there. We salted at the rate of 13% salt by weight of meat.
Rub the ham generously (rub thoroughly) with vodka, especially carefully in the places where the bone comes out, and rub thoroughly with a mixture of salt and sugar (900 g salt, 5 g sugar and 50 g ground pepper, where the ratio of salt and sugar can vary and various herbs (herbes de provence) can be added to the mixture, especially areas not covered with skins. Then rub generously with ground black or hot pepper areas not covered with sandpaper.
Saltpeter should not be used, so this article is not a guide to action, but simply an illustration of how this is done in the world.
...Two years later, I finally conducted an experiment with knuckle -