Recipe: Arugula-Prosciutto Wraps

Just a few weeks ago, a few of us from TKS returned from a culinary vacation in Italy. (That sounds so fancy as I type it!) If you've been reading, you know that we spent a week in the Abruzzo region perched on top of a mountain, cooking and learning traditional foods from the area. This dish, Arugula-Prosciutto Wraps, was one of my favorites. Of course they had just picked the gorgeous arugula that morning, and most likely nursed and cured the pig themselves, and good heavens, I'm sure someone's nonna was responsible for the prosciutto...not really. But the part about picking the arugula? Yup -- totally true, and you could tell.

The folks at the cooking school were super nice, but they were a little slow getting our recipes into our hot little hands, so I went ahead and re-wrote this one from memory. It's just about the easiest recipe ever, so don't be too impressed. I've made it since I've been home and it's a huge hit -- crazy easy and super yum. Give it a whirl this weekend!

Arugula-Prosciutto Wraps

• 1 bunch fresh arugula, washed and dried with roots removed
• 8 slices very thin prosciutto
• 1 small wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• good pinch of salt
• black pepper to taste

Divide the bunch of arugula into 8. Nestle 2-3 shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano on the arugula. Using one slice of prosciutto per batch, carefully wrap the arugula and Parmesan bunches, leaving a bit of the arugula stick out the top.

Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Place arugula wraps on a plate and drizzle with olive oil mixture. Serve immediately. If you want to go full Italian-style, add a few oil-cured olives and grissini (dry, thin breadsticks).

One note: You're going to want to use real, grown-up arugula (it's near the lettuce in the grocery store), not the baby stuff you get in the plastic container. And use good prosciutto too! The fewer ingredients in a recipe, the better quality each one needs to be. Word.