Creamy Prosciutto, Lemon & Basil Linguine

A tasty and light - despite the creaminess - pasta that is perfect for mid-week dinners as it is ready and on the table in just a fraction longer than the time it takes for the pasta to cook.

The truffle oil I used is strictly optional although it added a lovely extra layer to the sauce. If you don’t have any you could try garlic infused oil, or failing that olive oil will be absolutely fine.


Creamy Prosciutto, Lemon & Basil Linguine
serves 2

200g linguine or spaghetti
40g pack prosciutto, sliced or torn into small pieces
1 tsp truffle oil
juice of ½ lemon
1 egg yolk
2 heaped tbsp crème fraîche
sml handful basil leaves, torn
freshly ground black pepper
large handful grated Parmesan, plus extra to serve

Cook the linguine in plenty of salted water according to packet instructions.

Meanwhile, fry the prosciutto in the truffle oil until golden and crisp.

Mix together the lemon juice, egg yolk and crème fraîche in a small bowl and set aside.

Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water, and add to the prosciutto in the frying pan.

Mix the prosciutto into the pasta then pour in the eggy creme fraiche and lemon mixture. Toss the parmesan and basil in and quickly mix everything together, loosening with a little of the pasta cooking water so that the creamy sauce coats the pasta.

Serve with plenty of freshly ground black pepper and a little extra Parmesan grated over the top.

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Tagliatelle with Prosciutto & Olives

I think it is fairly obvious that I love pasta and am constantly on the lookout for delicious looking new recipes that I can try (see also soups and broths although I tend to cook those less often for some reason). Often, those that look mopst appealing to me are a spin, basically, on something that I already cook.

I think that is the case here really: I often cook sauces with bacon or pancetta or prosciutto or ham and olives and of course the triumvirate of tomatoes, Shallots / onions and garlic and I think that was exactly what attracted me to this recipe.

That and the quite artful way the original is arranged. This then is adapted from here but I’m afraid I had to concede defeat with the presentation.


Tagliatelle with Prosciutto & Olives
serves 2

250-300g fresh tagliatelle
1 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 shallot, finely chopped
65g black olives, pitted & roughly halved
2 tomatoes, diced
65ml dry white wine
2 tsp tomato purée
20g unsalted butter, cubed
6 slices prosciutto, roughly torn
40g freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
a small handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

In a heavy sauté pan warm the olive oil over a medium low heat and when hot add the garlic and shallots. Sauté until the shallots are softened and translucent: about 5-10 minutes.

Increase the heat a little and add the olives and tomatoes. cook for a further 2-3 minutes.

Add the wine and cook until it has all but evaporated and then add the butter and tomato purée.

Meanwhile cook the pasta according to packet instructions and when it is cooked drain, reserving a little of the cooking water, and add to the sauté pan with the sauce.

Mix well, but gently, adding a little of the pasta cooking if necessary to loosen the sauce and make it silkily coat all the pasta strands.

Stir through the prosciutto and parmesan then serve immediately sprinkled with the chopped parsley and a little extra parmesan.

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Asparagus, Mint & Lemon Risotto

This is pretty much a Jamie Oliver recipe really - you can find the original here: I think my only real adaptation was to add the fried prosciutto as a garnish, the salty savouriness worked pretty well.

Jamie’s idea of finely slicing the risotto lengths into little discs and keeping the tips whole is a good one: it gives a really good asparagus flavour to the risotto itself and of course you will get a delicious whole tip in (nearly) every bite.

Anyway, this is one of my favourite risotto recipes so give it a try.


Asparagus, Mint & Lemon Risotto
Serves 2

For the risotto base

250ml vegetable stock
½ tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
1 stick celery, trimmed and finely chopped
150 g risotto rice
65 ml vermouth
For the risotto

100g asparagus, finely chopped up until the tips
250 ml vegetable stock
12.5g butter
1 small handful Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus a block for grating
handful fresh mint, leaves picked and finely chopped
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
2 slices of prosciutto, lightly fried, to serve

Bring the stock to a low simmer in a small saucepan.

In a separate large pan cook the shallot and celery very gently until soft but not coloured in the olive oil. About 15 minutes.

Add the rice and turn up the heat. Stir constantly for a couple of minutes so that the rice or vegetables don’t catch and then quickly pour in the vermouth. Keep stirring until the vermouth has evaporated.

Turn the heat down to medium-low (as you cook you will need to adjust this as necessary: you don’t want the rice to cook too quickly so that it has a stodgy outside but uncooked middle, nor too slowly or it will become a stodgy but gloopy mess).

Add a ladleful of stock to the rice. Stir often (but you don’t need to be a slave to it) until the liquid has been fully absorbed before adding the next ladleful.

Continue to add ladlefuls of stock until it has all be absorbed and the rice has begun to soften but is still al dente. This can be anywhere from 15-30 minutes so towards the end of the cooking time you’ll need to be a bit vigilant. You may also need some more stock.

Put a large saucepan on a medium to high heat and pour in half the stock, the risotto base and the finely sliced asparagus stalks and the tips.

Stir constantly and gently bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer until almost all the stock has been absorbed.

Add the rest of the stock a ladleful at a time until the rice and asparagus are cooked. Check the rice often - you don’t want to overcook it so it should hold its shape but be soft and creamy and the whole kind of oozy.

Turn off the heat and quickly stir in the butter, Parmesan, mint, lemon juice and most of the lemon zest. Check the seasoning carefully and adjust if necessary.

Put a lid on the pan and leave the risotto to rest for a few minutes. Meanwhile you can quickly fry off the prosciutto.

Serve the risotto in bowls with a slice of fried Prosciutto atop each, drizzle over a little olive oil and scatter with the remaining lemon zest.

Have some more Parmesan on the table so you can add more if you like.

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