Prosciutto (Parma Ham) Pasta
This Parma ham pasta was made with parma ham (prosciutto) crisped up in the pan, along with cherry tomatoes, angel hair and leftover salad veggies. This is a super fast one-dish meal that takes about 15 minutes to make. After crisping a piece of raw parma ham in the pan as an experiment, I realised cooked Parma ham tasted similar to bacon (but minus the preservatives which is a bonus). So this was how this Parma ham pasta came about.
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Prosciutto di Parma (Parma Ham)
This was my packet of prosciutto di Parma (aka Parma ham). Parma ham can be eaten raw (we had it on a slice of toasted bread) or cooked. In this recipe, I treated the Parma ham like bacon, crisping it up for my pasta.
STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS (PARMA HAM PASTA)
Cook pasta (I used angel hair) in a pot of salted boiling water until al dente.
Cut parma ham to smaller pieces, then crisp them up in the pan with some olive oil. Set aside crisped Parma ham on a plate.
Add butter to the remaining oil in the pan. Fry some minced garlic briskly until fragrant.
Add cut cherry tomato and drained pasta. Return crisp parma ham to the pan (pictured above).
After this, mix the pasta well with chicken stock (for a richer taste) or pasta cooking water to bind the pasta together.
Optional: I had some leftover salad vegetables ( a mix of baby spinach & rocket leaves) so I added them to the pan while the contents are still hot.
When the salad veggies start to wilt, the pasta is done. Garnish with black pepper, chopped Italian parsley and parmesan cheese flakes.
Parma Ham Pasta Recipe
For lower carbs, replace angel hair with shirataki rice noodles which contains 10 calories per 100g, or any keto-friendly whole wheat pasta.
You can substitute the Parma ham with 4 slices of streaky bacon.
Check out the ingredients step-by-step photos on the previous page.
Ingredients:
- 1 tsp salt
- 75g dried angel hair (or any favourite pasta)
- 4 slices prosciutto di Parma (Parma ham) cut to short strips
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 10g + 1og unsalted butter divided
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 cherry tomatoes halved
- 5 tbsp rich (tetra-pak) chicken stock or pasta cooking water use more if needed, 1 tbsp at a time
- a generous heap of salad mix (such as baby spinach & arugula) optional
- garlic salt as needed
Suggested Garnishes
- parmesan cheese shavings
- small drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
- freshly cracked black pepper
Directions:
- Cook pasta. Bring a pot of water with 1 tsp salt added to a boil. Add angel hair and cook until al dente (about 1 min 30 seconds). Drain and set aside.
- Crisp Parma ham. In a frying pan, add cut Parma ham and olive oil. Cook until the Parma ham is crisp and most of the fats rendered. Set aside the crisp ham on a plate.
- Make the pasta. Return the cooked angel hair pasta and crisped ham to the pan. Add the remaining butter, cherry tomatoes and chicken stock (or pasta cooking water). Melt the butter and bind everything together, using more liquids one tablespoon at a time if too dry. Season the pasta with garlic salt as needed.
- Add the salad vegetables (if using) and let them wilt in the heat, mixing them into the noodles.
- To serve, garnish with a drizzle of evoo, parmesan cheese shavings, chopped parsley and freshly cracked black pepper.