Prosciutto Pasta Recipe For Two

This smooth, silky Prosciutto Pasta Recipe has a hint of creaminess and is for those days when you are craving something cozy. Using fresh-sliced, bright-red tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, crispy Italian prosciutto tossed with penne rigate and a light parmesan cream sauce, this dish comes together in under 30-minutes.  A generous amount of fresh grated parmesan and lemon zest is sprinkled on top to add a bright lemony pop.  This one will be your GO-TO weeknight pasta dish when serving two!

The holiday season is in full swing and is the time of year I want to make food that feels warm and cozy and is easy to whip up. Maybe like me, you find yourself spending a lot of time in the kitchen prepping, baking, and cooking.

This week I am looking for something that will take very little effort yet is super yummy. Enter my friend Linda’s pasta! It’s cozy and its unexpected bright fresh notes of citrus make this a perfect all-season dish when cooking for two.

Inspired by Il Libro Della Vera Cucina Florentina (“The Book of True Florentine Cuisine”), Linda shows us how to make her Prosciutto Pasta Recipe with Mushrooms and a light cream sauce. It is so simple, uses fresh ingredients and is so very delicious.

Prosciutto Pasta Ingredients

Here's what you need:

• Small penne rigate – you can substitute your favorite tube shaped pasta. Use gluten free pasta if necessary.
• Sliced Italian prosciutto – if prosciutto is a bit rich for your budget Linda has also made this recipe with uncured applewood bacon. Her tip is to trim off the fat.
• Fresh mushrooms – Linda likes to use cremini or button mushrooms. I am a big fan of mixing in some shitake mushrooms along with the cremini.
• Tomato paste – we will also add a pinch of sugar and dried oregano to enhance the tomato flavor.
• Freshly grated parmigiano or parmesean – of course, you can buy the already grated parmigiano but the freshly grated parmigiano is softer and tastes so fresh adding better flavor.

Cooking Prosciutto

Crisping the prosciutto not only develops its flavor but also creates a pleasing textural contrast in this dish.

First we want to melt butter in a skillet over medium heat until foaming.  Now, add prosciutto and cook until just crisp, about 10 minutes.

Preparing Mushrooms

Grabbing a container of mushrooms from the supermarket, odds are your fresh fungi will have bits of dirt clinging to their caps. Of course, you’ll want to remove the dirt, but don’t wash them. Mushrooms are mini sponges that soak up every bit of liquid they come into contact with.

Many times we end up with bendy bland mushrooms because they absorb more water than can be cooked off.  So please, do not rinse them.  We will be cooking them and the heat will kill any harmful bacteria.

What to do instead? Brush the dirt off with a damp paper towel. You can also pick up a mushroom brush, which is specially designed to remove dirt without damaging the cap.

Avoiding bland mushrooms

If you’ve ever sautéed mushrooms, you’ll know that they give off a lot of water in the pan. To avoid sad, wet mushrooms, crank up the heat to medium-high to allow this water to evaporate. It may take a few minutes but be patient. The results are worth it.

Don’t skimp on cooking fats.   Give your mushrooms a generous dose of cooking fats (such as butter) and add more as needed. This gives them a lovely brown color that no one can resist and infuses them with extra flavor—ideal for this mushroom and tomato pasta.

Also don’t forget the salt.  Cooking the mushrooms with salt releases their juices and enhances browning.

How to make prosciutto pasta

Step 1 | Crisp prosciutto

Cook prosciutto and mushrooms in melted butter

Stir occasionally to brown evenly

Step 2 | Add tomatoes

When prosciutto is crisp and mushrooms are browned, add tomato slices. Give the tomatoes a quick saute.

Step 3 | Add cream and spices

Add tomato paste, cream, oregano and a pinch of sugar, simmer for 5 minutes.

Step 4 | Garnish

Grate Parmesan and lemon zest over the top

Cooking Pasta for Two

Do you have a hard time figuring out how much dried pasta to put in the pot of boiling water, so that you don’t have too little or too much?  Me Too!

My rule of thumb for two is to cook half the box of pasta (8 ounces). Most recipes call for one pound of pasta — which is a standard box or bag — to serve four to six people. It’s far easier to eyeball this than fuss over specific measurements

What to serve with Prosciutto Pasta

• It’s perfect on its own with a glass of chianti for date night!
• I like to serve either a Caesar salad with lots of parmesan or a simple green salad tossed with this homemade zesty, garlicky shallot vinaigrette.
• We also like to have a warm baguette to tear into and mop up any of the creamy sauce.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #ourtable42.