Prociutto Salad with Apple, Walnut, and Parmigiano

While traveling in California introducing Guido to my family, we impressed my Santa Barbara relatives with a simple prosciutto salad. This version is a more embellished version, but you can simplify it by cutting the extra ingredients.

Ah...Proscuitto di Parma. Sigh... There are few things in Italian cuisine that I love as much as prosciutto crudo, a thinly sliced salt-cured ham produced in central and northern Italy, most famously in Parma. It's slightly ironic that I love it so much, since I hadn't eaten pork products for almost 15 years before I started coming to Italy in 2010. One evening Guido set some prosciutto on the table along with a few slices of bread, some parmigiano (parmesan), and a little wine. I took a bite, hesitant...I don't really like to eat mammals. But once the thin, salty slice touched my tongue I was helpless against it and secretly ate the rest when Guido went to work the next day. All I can say is that prosciutto is one of the reasons the word "Orgasmica" appears in my blog.

Prosciutto di Parma

I love to eat prosciutto with as few things as possible to highlight the taste. In Italy you'll often see it served with slices of melon (but not watermelon) or with figs as an appetizer. This salad is pushing my limit of acceptable ingredients to eat with prosciutto, but somehow all the individual tastes were still able to shine.

We found a decent prosciutto at Trader Joes while traveling, and splurged on the slightly more expensive brand. It's always worth it. I also recommend investing a bit of extra cash on a good balsamic vinaigrette; the Trader Joe's "Gold Quality" was pretty decent. We also used their Grana Padando, a slightly softer (and more accurate) version of the parmigiano we have here in Italy.

Servings: 2 full-sized plates

Ingredients:

• Lettuce (I prefer mixed greens which add a nice bitter flavor, and aren't ribbed like romaine)
• 2 to 3 strips of prosciutto
• 1/4 of an apple
• As much parmigiano as your apple, sliced in a similar manner (not grated)
• 8 walnut halves, cut in half
• G-Spot Ingredient: A good quality Balsamic vinaigrette

The prep is quick and easy. Put your salad in the bowl, put the ingredients on top. Dress with your olive oil and vinaigrette (be modest, there's a lot of flavor here), and serve.

Where do you get your high-quality olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, or prosciutto if you're not in Italy? Please share here where you're from and let us know!