Potato Prosciutto Roll
2001-08-16 @ 11:29 a.m.
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Sunday was Sara's birthday. Maybe you know that already. Badsnake baked her a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I made chocolate ice cream with miniature semi-sweet M&Ms (in the baking section of the grocery store), all her choices. Also at her request, we had a potato prosciutto roll that I have made a couple of times before. Traditionally I'm not in the habit of making the same thing twice (not on principle, just because I'm always trying new stuff), especially without changing it somehow. But this became one of Sara's favorites after the first time I made it. I made some changes to the recipe to accommodate our tastes. I'll explain as I go. This one takes a while to prepare, especially considering the time it has to cool and set. So set aside a good 3 to 4 hours for it.
Here are the ingredients. This is a long and somewhat complicated recipe, so bear with me. It is also by no means low fat, as you will see. I got this recipe from an issue of La Cucina Italiana. I've had it for a while, and all I have is a photocopy of the page which doesn't tell me which issue. La Cucina Italiana has become one of my favorite cooking and wine magazines. They call it:
Golden Potato Roll
1 lb potatoes
7 tbsp unsalted butter
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
salt and pepper
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 lb Prosciutto Cotto, cut into 4 slices
1/4 cup flour
1 green pepper, diced
4 anchovy filets, chopped
6 black olives, pitted and chopped
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp Tabasco
Boil the potatoes until they are just tender when pierced with a knife; drain, peel and pass them through a ricer into a bowl; let cool to room temperature. [I peel and chop the potatoes before I cook them. I think it takes less time for them to soften. The first time I made this, I called my favorite cooking store and asked how much a ricer was. I decided to use my trusty hand masher instead of buy one. I found a cheap ricer later at Big Lots and have decided it works a little better. It makes the potatoes a more consistent mash. I suppose you could use a mixer, but I think that might make them too mushy. They have to be thick enough to spread on the prosciutto evenly without being runny.]
Add 2 tbsp of the butter, the egg yolk, Parmigiano, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to the mashed potatoes in the bowl. [I use regular Parmigian cheese. I know that Parmigiano Reggiano is better, but it's also a lot more expensive. I do prefer to grate the Parmigian myself. It keeps longer in a block than grated and it tastes fresher when it's freshly grated even if you've had the block in your fridge for weeks. I have not yet gotten to the point where I grate my own nutmeg. I used powdered.]
On a piece of parchment paper, arrange 3 slices of Prosciutto, one next to the other so as to form a rectangle. Spread the potato mixture over the Prosciutto in a single layer about 1/2 inch thick. Lifting the parchment paper as you go, roll the ingredients into a neat bundle, making sure that the potato mixture is completely covered by the Prosciutto. Refrigerate the roll for 1 hour, or until the mixture solidifies. Remove the parchment paper. [I used whatever kind of Prosciutto was available at Publix - the cheapest kind. Again, Prosciutto is expensive enough without hunting down a particular variety. I think I've used two different kinds, too, and I wish I could remember what they were for you. The one I used most recently was a little less fatty and a little more solid. I thought at first that I needed to overlap the slices to keep the roll together. But the potatoes do that job, especially if they are firm enough. You can use wax paper instead of parchment paper, but the parchment does work a little better.]
Slice the roll into 18 equal pieces and arrange them on a lightly floured baking sheet; sprinkle with additional flour. [Use a very sharp knife to slice the roll or it will just smush under the knife.]
Brown the slices in 4 separate batches in 4 tbsp of the remaining butter, using 1 tbsp of butter for each batch. Place the slices in a serving platter; cook the remaining slice of Prosciutto, dicing it first, in the butter that is left in the pan until lightly golden. Place the saut�ed Prosciutto in the middle of the platter, mounding it in the center. [I cut the slices a little thicker than the recipe calls for, which gave me fewer slices and allowed me to cook them all at the same time in the frying pan. That also let me use less butter to cook them in. You have to watch them closely when they are frying. They don't need much cooking, and it is easy to burn the butter. I haven't tried cooking them in olive oil yet, but it's probably worth a try. It won't taste quite as yummy as the butter and may not brown quite as well, but it will be less likely to burn and more healthy.]
Meanwhile, in another pan, cook the pepper, anchovies, and olives in the remaining tbsp of butter for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; deglaze with the vinegar. Add the Worcestershire and Tabasco sauces, cook for 1 more minute, and pour over the warm potato slices. [By this point even I was amazed at how much butter I was using. I am a huge advocate of butter instead of margarine, but I use olive oil when I can. Here I saut�ed the extra ingredients in olive oil instead of butter. Badsnake doesn't like bell peppers, and I was afraid none of us would like anchovies so I have used various other ingredients here. The first time I used celery, onions and mushrooms. This time I used black olives, onions and mushrooms. I have since tried a dish with anchovies on three of us and we liked it, so I may try this with the anchovies sometime. I think that might be a really good touch. But Sara is the one who hasn't tried them, and she is my pickiest eater. I didn't want to make her try something new and risky on her birthday.]
Serve immediately. Serves 6.
With that entree you almost have to have a light vegetable dish. I served some boiled green beans because we had some from the garden. A salad is probably the best side dish for this.
We drank a crisp, dry ros� with this meal. In summertime, I think you need something light and crisp with all the heavy richness of the food. In cooler months I might choose a light red like Pinot Noir.
After dinner we had the cake and ice cream. Sunday night was a veritable fat fest. Fortunately for me, I had mowed the lawn on Sunday for my exercise. Everyone else was on their own. This is definitely a special occasion meal.
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