Jun 7, 2016 | Appetizers & Bar Bites, Recipes
Prosciutto Pesto Puffs!! Prosciutto Pesto Poppers?? Puffs or Poppers? Mmmmmm, I can kind of go either way. In support of Puffs, these tasty little morsels are light and puffy. But, don’t discount Poppers; the journey from cutting board to platter is anything but guaranteed – see Open Wide above. I say you get 3 dozen pieces, but do you??? What if you don’t? Who will know? Most importantly, this quick and easy app includes the four food groups (remember those?) – cheese and dough, pesto and pig. Riiiiiiiiight?? I know I had you at cheese and dough.
Who among you doesn’t have some version of those four things in-house at all times? Don’t make me come over there! I know by now I have cultivated at least some level of pantry-responsibility in you. Personally I am still working through pizza dough from last month’s Pizzapalooza/Bring Your Own Pizza Toppings pot lucky. I was so uber prepped that I ended up with another half dozen crusts in the freezer. But this dish disappears so quickly you can short cut my Trader Joe’s dough short cut and just grab the poppin’ fresh variety. It would be a crime against your calendar to make dough for this from scratch.
And pesto…I’m just about at the end of the stash of Pistachio Lemon Pesto I put away last fall. But for this I used an arugula pepita pesto –Y.U.M. – that was a contribution to the pizza party. Any combo of greens and nuts or seeds will work. Just follow the basic proportions in this recipe. The sassier the better. And, of course, you will get more depth of flavor if you toast the nuts or seeds first. But if you are short-changed on time, supermarket pesto ain’t half bad. We’re on the clock, people! We got PopperPuffs to make.
Then there’s the pig – let’s just go straight for prosciutto and stop there. But of course you could use salami, ham, anything that is cooked or cured. Raw bacon would be a mess. Smoked turkey would be a delish sub, or roasted peppers and thoroughly drained spinach if you are vegetarian.
Vegans however need not apply. This PopperPuff screams for cheese. I met and love-@first-sight’d this dish about 8 years ago when my then 14-year old neighbor Allison whipped up a larger version, stromboli-like, and appeared for a boat ride with a hamper-full. All the adults were stunned. What? Is? This? Cheesy? Goodness? It’s possible I broke a bicep shoveling in the gooey slices. Ever since, we have called this (or any interpretation of) the Ali Roll.
It recently occurred to me it was a tad bit – don’t judge me on what I am about to say – too gooey. I know. I know. But more because the center stays a bit dough-y than that there is too much cheese. Heaven forbid! So for a Memorial Day app exchange – which had nothing to do with technology – I decided to whittle this down to bite-size, and the results were a crowd-pleaser. The pieces were also less daunting than a slice 4+ inches wide which is considered bite-size in fewer and fewer circles these days.
Feel free to swap out all the fillings. This dish is pretty indestructible. I haven’t tried it but am fairly certain you could make the logs and freeze them, then bake frozen. Or you could bake it off, slice and freeze in an airtight container. These are good warm-from-the-oven or at room temperature.
While not gourmet per se, this is squarely in the category my friend Cindy calls “People Love It”.
Enjoy!
Prosciutto Pesto Puffs
- 13.8 ounce can of classic pizza dough (or equivalent fresh dough)
- 2/3 cup pesto
- ½ pound prosciutto, thinly sliced, (includes a bit extra for snacking)
- 1 ½ cups grated mozzarella*
- Good olive oil, salt flakes and crushed red pepper flakes
Preheat oven to 425o.
Roll or stretch dough into a 12” by 14” rectangle.
Cut in thirds lengthwise, creating three 4 x 14 strips.
Divide the pesto between the three strips and spread evenly. Leave a ¾” edge pesto-free along the far (long side) of each strip.
Cover the pesto area on each strip with prosciutto – about 4 slices per strip. It’s okay to overlap a bit.
Divide the grated mozzarella between the three strips and sprinkle on top of the prosciutto.
Working with one strip at a time, tightly roll toward the pesto-free zone, creating a 14” long log. Tuck the ends under and place, seam side down, on a baking sheet. Repeat with the other two strips.
Brush the logs with olive oil and sprinkle with salt (I like Maldon Sea Salt Flakes 
) and sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes.
Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until golden brown, rotating the pan about half way through.
Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. When cool enough to handle, transfer the logs off the baking sheet onto the wire rack . Let rest 10 minutes all together.
Slice into 12 slices per log. Stand back and relish the high praise.
*When asked on that maiden Ali-Roll voyage, the Ali-Roll Mistress herself instructed me to use “grocery store mozzarella for best melting.” Sure, you could fancy it up with fresh mozz, but you still won’t have leftovers.
Makes 3 dozen PopperPuffs.
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Oct 2, 2015 | Dressings & Sauces, Recipes, Seasonings & Spices
Oh for crying out loud. I’m a grown-ass woman. You would think I could get over the end of the farmer’s market and the demise of my herb bed without this drama. But…….have you met me?
Deep breath in. Deep breath out. In. Out. Focus! You know what to do. Pretty much any time between now and Thanksgiving (a bit earlier if you are in the northern reaches and will have extended hard freezes before), you can cut back all your perennial herbs and hang them upside down to dry. I tend to focus on Thanksgiving because it’s one last chance to harvest the herbs you will need for stuffing et al. Besides, cutting back your herb beds and throwing down some mulch has the added benefit of getting them ready for spring – which really can’t be that far away when you think of it.
The main reasons to hang and to hang upside down are to stiffen the stems and provide enough airflow to keep from molding. Once dry, you can pick them off the stems, crumble and keep in an airtight tin. If you have hangups about the whole hanging scene, you can also pack the stemless leaves between layers of a good quality coarse salt and make, for example, your own rosemary salt. A little herb goes a long way. And then of course you could always gently heat olive oil and infuse it with some sprigs of herb. Discard the herbs in a few days or a week when you get the desired flavor.
But what to do with the annual herbs? Basil, Parsley, Arugula, Cilantro?? These are definitely a goner after the first frost. I favor pastes for these which I keep in the freezer for a quick addition to other dishes, a theme you may be picking up on from You’ll Thank Me in the Winter Oven-Dried Tomatoes. Pureed with some oil and whatever else you want, these pastes make great flavor boosts for those bleak winter months. Some people like to leave the cheese (Romano or Parmesan, or other hard grating cheese) out, if freezing the pesto. I think if there is enough oil to coat the cheese, there is no reason why it can’t be incorporated up front. Play around with the combos and see what tastes good to you. When making a basil pesto, I often add some spinach or arugula or even parsley – all depends how much basil taste I want to show up later. And if the basil has already started to go to seed, it can be a bit bitter, so adding some other herbs can round out the flavor and boost the color.
Basil Pesto is something that really does have to be made to taste. (I’m not making this up because I’m too lazy to give you a proper recipe). Am I sensing a little anxiety that there will be no real recipe again?? Come one folks, you can do it! The key components for traditional pesto are basil, garlic, olive oil/EVOO, pine nuts and cheese, generally Parmesan. I’m probably going out on a limb here, but I don’t get pine nuts, pretty much at all but definitely in this dish. They are super expensive, very delicate both in flavor and handling (sold rancid way too often), and provide no texture contrast to the paste. But what DO you like, you ask? Good question! Many use walnuts, but I love toasted pistachios. You can almost always find them shelled at a health food store. I spread them on a sheet pan and roast all naked (uh……….the pistachios, not me) for about 10 minutes at 400°F. You can definitely smell them getting to the right point. After cooling completely, I pulse in a food processor, keeping them a bit chunky. From there, I set them aside and stir in at the end by hand.
I also like to add lemon zest – which works best if you are freezing. If you are trying to keep it fresh in the fridge for more than a few days, the acid will start to kill the green in the basil. Something about the roasted nuts and fresh lemon zest though that really elevate the flavor profile.
So here you go – make it your way.
Pistachio Lemon Pesto
4 cloves (or more if you love it) garlic, pulsed in the food processor til minced
4 packed cups fresh basil (mixed with spinach, arugula, parsley or whatever you want/have), pulsed til coarsely chopped
¾ cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (you got it – your choice), pulsed a couple times
About 1 cup extra virgin olive oil, drizzled in while motor is running. Don’t let it get too runny if you are planning to freeze without an ice cube tray, but you do want the ingredients well coated.
Then, transfer to a bowl, and stir in:
¾ cup roasted, chopped pistachios
Zest of one lemon
Taste, and adjust seasonings (salt and pepper).
Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the pesto and refrigerate until it firms up a bit. Some like to use ice cube trays to freeze this. (I don’t have any). I usually just spoon out a 2 Tablespoon dollop onto a sheet pan, then once frozen place the pesto blobs into a Ziplock. You could use an ice cream scoop I’m guessing if you want to get fancy. If it seems a bit thin for scooping, you can thicken with a bit more cheese. More cheese is always good, I’m pretty sure.
There are so many ways to use this – add to a soup or stew, jazz up your mashed potatoes, spread on pizza dough before adding the toppings, slather it on bruschetta or toss into a pasta dish. What would you do if you had a freezer-full (again, you’ll thank me) come January? Sharing is caring, so let us know.
Winner winner chicken dinner – with pistachio lemon pesto mashed potatoes.
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