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What do I do with a heap of prosciutto?


Callipygos

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Okay, that was the best pithy quote I could think of for this...

Suppose somewhere along the line, you are presented with/pick up on sale/accidentaly have an abundance of a particular ingredient or food item that you're looking for ideas on how to use. Say someone gives you a big jar of some fruit in liqueur that you've been eating spooned over ice cream for a month and you're wondering for other ideas how to use it, or you go apple-picking with friends and end up with twelve pounds of apples and want to do something with them before they all go bad but the thought of eighteen pies feels excessive, or there's a special in the market for a particular cut of meat you've not tried before and sounds interesting, but now that you have it home you're at a loss as to what to do with it. Or you have an idea, but you're reluctant to try it because you're afraid you'd accidentally ruin it. I wanted to set something up for that kind of advice.

In my case -- my supermarket packages the end pieces of the cold cuts, and the other day I saw a quarter-pound end piece of proscuitto for a couple bucks and grabbed it, thinking, "Proscuitto for two bucks? I'm sure I can think of SOMETHING to do with this." Except every recipe I have involving proscuitto calls for sliced proscuitto, and I don't have a deli slicer; my attempts to slice it by hand would probably result in big chunks rather than thin, light slices.

I'm wondering whether just dicing it and using it in place of cooked ham in a couple recipes wouldn't be a bad idea. ....Would it?

Edited by Callipygos (log)
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In my case -- my supermarket packages the end pieces of the cold cuts, and the other day I saw a quarter-pound end piece of proscuitto for a couple bucks and grabbed it, thinking, "Proscuitto for two bucks?  I'm sure I can think of SOMETHING to do with this."  Except every recipe I have involving proscuitto calls for sliced proscuitto, and I don't have a deli slicer; my attempts to slice it by hand would probably result in big chunks rather than thin, light slices.

I'm wondering whether just dicing it and using it in place of cooked ham in a couple recipes wouldn't be a bad idea.  ....Would it?

Yes, you could do that. Other ideas:

Tartiflette!

Or you could use the ham in a pot of beans.

It's wonderfull served with cantaloupe as an appetizer.

:smile:

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If you bake bread, sprinkle some small cubes -- well, a lot of them :biggrin: -- into the dough before you shape it. A little Parmesan or other cheese along with that wouldn't hurt.

Saute in some olive oil and add to pasta sauce, either at the start or end of cooking. Just remember to adjust the sauce.

Mix with ricotta and shredded mozzarella to stuff calzone.

Grind and mix with ricotta to stuff ravioli.

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I like to make a yeast dough, roll it out a bit, slather with pesto, sprinkle with parm and proscuitto cubes (teeny) then roll it up, let it proof and throw it in the oven. Yum! I too came on such and overabundance and did that, and also threw the chunks in an omlette or two.

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