Prosciutto and Arugula Bundles

photography Debbie Adams

Prosciutto and Arugula Bundles on tray lined with galax leaves

Floral Design by Megan Yager

photography Mathilde Bonbon

Served at the SBMA Founder's Dinner

photography Mathilde Bonbon

Sheet Trays in the kitchen full and ready to go

photography Amy Albertson

One of my favorite kinds of goat cheese: Silver Goat Chevre

I invented this recipe because I was trying to find a way to turn my grandmother's famous Prosciutto and Cheese Torta into a tray-passed hors d'ouevres. This was the solution and it was an instant hit and became one of our most popular hors d'oeuvres. They are labor intensive because you must make them only and hour or two before serving. You can't make them the day in advance or the arugula will wilt. If you are looking for a short-cut for entertaining at home then just make my grandmother's original Prosciutto and Cheese Torta (link pasted below) which can be made 1 or 2 days in advance.

http://themailifiles.blogspot.com/2009/09/prosciutto-and-cheese-torta.html

For those that don't care for goat cheese, you can use all cream cheese instead. Even if you love garlic, don't increase the amount. You want to garlic to be a subtle complimentary flavor not, "wow, there is a lot of garlic in this!"

PROSCIUTTO AND ARUGULA BUNDLES

Makes 80 pieces

2 11-ounce logs of milk goat cheese, softened

2 8-ounce packs of cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup pine nuts, roasted

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon minced fresh basil

1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf leaf parsley, minced

1 pound thinly sliced prosciutto

4 cups baby arugula

1. Mix the goat cheese and cream cheese together and blend completely. Add the pine nuts, garlic, salt, pepper and minced herbs.

2. Trim most of the visible fat off the edges of the prosciutto. Cut the pieces in half widthwise and place a tablespoon of the cheese mixture onto one end of the half-slice of prosciutto. Work the cheese mixture into a log shape and place two small pieces of arugula at each end of the log of cheese, allowing the arugula to hang out of the end of each bundle.

3. Carefully roll up the bundle, keeping it as tight as you can without tearing the prosciutto.

MAILI PRODUCTIONS COOKBOOK, MAILI HALME BROCKE, RECIPE TYPED JANUARY 5, 2005