prosciutto fried pears

I don't know if this is something that people do, or just a crazy idea that I had, but I had some prosciutto and I had some juicy ripe pears, and I decided to play match maker. I quartered the bartletts, and then wrapped each piece in very thinly sliced prosciutto. Toss those babies in a hot frying pan, maybe with a little melted butter, and let it sizzle. The sugars in the pear will help caramelize the prosciutto, and the pears warm up and get nice and soft.

This turned out to be pretty tasty, a classic mix of salty and sweet. I particularly liked the crispiness of the prosciutto, which is something you don't get in the classic melon/prosciutto combo. In that regard in the very least, I think this fried pear update is an improvement.

Has anyone heard of anything like this before? Regardless, I think prosciutto fried pears are a pretty good idea, and they honestly couldn't be easier. We're talking three ingredients and ten minutes max. Toss it on a bed of arugula for a fancy salad, or serve with some sort of crunchy cookie and some dulce de leche ice cream. I could definitely see a lot of cool things happening with prosciutto fried pears. If you like the sound of these, you should give them a shot at home and let me know how it goes!

i miss arthur avenue

arugula, prosciutto and parmesean salad

I am really, really glad that I live in Manhattan now. Yes, it may be upper Manhattan, but it's still way more accessible than our old place in the Bronx. People are willing to come over on days of the year that aren't Fordham homecoming or my birthday party, and I love that.

What I do miss is Arthur Ave. The meat, the cheese, the torrone, the wine, the pasta... So much amazing foodstuff. I love it here in Harlem, but I haven't seen so much as a leaf of basil up here, let alone prosciutto di parma. I'm not asking for specialty Italian food, but a nice butcher would be cool.


red pepper and fresh mozzarella bruschetta

So, when I get a chance to go back, I blow two weeks of grocery money in a single afternoon and eat like a pig. I go to Casa Della mozzarella and buy pillowy little bocconcini. They are absolutely perfect and delicious bites just as they are, but I don't always stop there. I also go to Madonia Bakery for their excellent bread, (and peerless canoli), because bocconcini also make absolutely delicious bruschetta with some garlic marinated roasted red peppers, basil, parsley and some wilted greens.


prosciutto close up

Here we have a lovely and simple little salad that I threw together after my last trip to Arthur. I got a quarter pound of prosciutto di parma and a small wedge of parmesean at Teitel Brothers. I made the salad with the paper thin slices of cured meat, some curls of the cheese, a lemony vinaigrette dressing, and then arugula and tomato from the co-op.


four little bruschetta

Man, this was a good dinner. I wish I could get back up there more often. The ingredients on Arthur Avenue are so good and so flavorful that you barely have to do anything to them!