Majella’s latest twitter poll results are in and Carmela’s Nonna Carmela inspired Spaghetti with Parma ham and lemon is the winner
The recipe twitter poll featured three delicious options from Carmela Sereno Hayes, author of ‘A Passion for Pasta’ and ‘Southern Italian Family Cooking’. We are delighted to report that the winning recipe is Spaghetti with Parma ham and lemon, and here’s the recipe to try out, so over to Carmela.
When pasta is paired beautifully with the freshness of lemon and the salty sweetness of Parma ham it is simple yet perfect, I assure you this will be a ‘Go to’ recipe for your busy family weekday kitchen. I adore Parma ham straight from the fridge (thinly sliced) as my late night fridge raid treat, draped over some Pugliese bread with a little olive oil or filled into a delicious panino with some fantastic provolone piccante. However when it’s fried off for a few minutes it releases a fantastic sweetness which leaves me eating it straight from the pan. So good!! Try this, from fridge to table in under 13 minutes! Ready, steady, spaghetti………….
Spaghetti with Parma ham and lemon
Serves: 4
Preparation: 5 mins
Cooking: 10 mins
Ingredients
- 350g Spaghetti
- 3 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Extra to drizzle)
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed
- 230g Parma ham, sliced into pieces
- 1 lemon, zest & juice
- Small bunch parsley, roughly chopped
- Black pepper, twist
- Pinch chilli, optional
- 80g Parmesan, grated
Method
- Place a large pan of water onto boil, once boiling salt well.
- Cook the spaghetti as per packet instructions less 2 minutes, this will ensure the spaghetti remains aldente, with a bite.
- Into a frying pan add the olive oil and fry off the garlic gently for 2 minutes.
- Add the Parma ham to the pan with the garlic and stir. Fry off gently until the Parma ham is almost crispy, around 4-5 minutes.
- Add half of the lemon juice and parsley to the Parma ham and stir.
- Drain the spaghetti (retaining a ladle of pasta water) and tumble the strands into the frying pan with the lemon zest, the remaining lemon juice, parsley and a twist of black pepper and stir.
- Add a little pasta water and stir. Scatter in a pinch of chilli (optional) and the grated Parmesan.
- Plate up with a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil #GranCruOil and a little more Parmesan on the side.
Buon Appetito!
Thanks to Carmela and the twitter poll voters, a recipe that I like many will be trying out regularly, I’ll have to ask my colleague Alistair Morrell for some tasty wine ideas to accompany this dish.
Majella O’Connell with Carmela Sereno Hayes
If you have enjoyed this recipe there are lots more from Carmela through the links below.
Carmela Hayes
Twitter @carmela_kitchen
Twitter @PastaCarmela
For more information click here
