Pasta Tricolore

Friday, December 21, 2012

I know, I know tomatoes, mozzarella, basil … all things that make me think of summer.  But then again, aren’t these the holiday colours, too?  Anyway, we eat this Italian treat all year round because it’s so yummy.  And probably like anyone else with kids I can never ever have enough good pasta recipes.  Lego here to share a super-easy and really yummy family favourite:

This is what you need … and what you get :-)

• 500 g (16 oz box) whole-wheat spaghetti
• 1 fistful of pine nuts
• appr. 30 small cherry tomatoes
• 1 package (250 g) of Halloumi cheese (Greek cheese for grilling)
• 20 dried tomatoes (when in olive oil: rinse a bit)
• 1 mozzarella cheese ball (rinse and try to get it at room temperature)
• fresh basil
• olive oil
• 12 slices of prosciutto crudo (or any kind of dry cured ham)

• First you’ve got to cut, cut, cut!

• Fry pine nuts without oil in a non-stick pan for about a minute.  They should not get dark!  Set aside.

• While the spaghetti is being cooked al dente in salted water (see package) fry Halloumi in a non-stick pan until it turns brown.  (You wanna get that yummy crust ;-)  Set aside.

• Put tomatoes in the very same pan and melt a bit.  Add dried tomatoes.  Heat and stir for a minute or two.

• When pasta has finished cooking and you have rinsed it, put it back in the pot.  Add tomatoes and Halloumi.  Cover the pot, set aside and let rest for about 5 minutes.  (Believe me, it’s worth it.  We found out because the second helping always tasted better ;-)…  I guess because the pasta can absorb all the yummy tomato flavor!

• In the meantime place ham slices on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.  Grill in the oven for about a minute or so.  (Depends on your grill actually!)   They should get a bit brown and crispy.  The crispier, the better!

• Put on a plate and drizzle with some good olive oil.

• Sprinkle with pine nuts, mozzarella and basil.  Place ham chips on top.  Serve and enjoy!  For a heartier version: drizzle with more olive oil ;-) or add more ham strips.
• Buon appetito!

Here comes the recipe card to download…CLICK HERE to download or click on the image below.  I used one of the very handy Muffin Man recipe card templates!

Thanks for checking in with the blog today!  Don’t miss tomorrow‘s entry when Emily shares her creativity with us in her inspiration post!  Since I won’t have the opportunity to “blog” to you in the very soon future, let me wish you wonderful Christmas celebrations with your beloved ones and the bestest for the New Year!

legoFood Stuff, Free (not desktops), Uncategorized 5 Comments