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Prosciutto crudo, the dry-cured ham that we refer to as prosciutto, has to be my favorite Italian discovery. So you can imagine that my husband and I sat there with drooly dropped jaws last weekend as we watched Giada de Laurentiis make her way through the hundreds of curing hams in a prosciutto factory in Parma, Italy.
All that prosciutto in one place.
We love prosciutto, we even served it as part of the anti-pasti course at our wedding reception. It goes in (and around) everything… from omelets, pasta, and melon balls to stuffed chicken, asparagus, and rotola. Aaaaah, yes. Rotola.
Is there anything better to munch on than prosciutto and cheese. Last night, I dropped a package of Buitoni Four-Cheese Ravioli into a pot because I just didn’t feel like cooking anything more involved. Eh, it happens. Plus, I’d already made a loaf of homemade rosemary bread and had two loaves of no-knead bread rising upstairs where it was warmer.
Anyway, I ran across a lovely picture of Rotola a few days ago in an old MSL magazine and decided to give it a whirl. It’s super easy – it’s two slices of prosciutto and two slices of provolone or mozzarella cheese, rolled up jelly-roll style. I considered throwing in some fresh basil leaves, but I decided to just keep it simple. Plus, there are plenty of leftovers to add basil tomorrow night! They looked absolutely lovely as a garnish for the ravioli!
The following recipe yields 6 1/4-inch pieces of Rotola:
Ingredients
2 slices of prosciutto
2 slices of provolone or mozzarella cheese
Lay two slices of the prosciutto end to end (the short ends), overlapping approximately 1 inch. Arrange the cheese on top (do not overlap). Starting at one of the short ends, roll the prosciutto and cheese jelly-roll style. Cut into 1/4-inch slices and enjoy!
These look delish, a perfect way to start a meal! Another appetizer I love to make is prosciutto wrapped around dates. Always a big hit!