Angel Hair with Prosciutto, Pine Nuts and Basil

Today I bought some fresh angel hair from Karl at Oak Tree Bakery. Jim Churchill and Lisa Brenneis told me that fresh angel hair was just not right, and all the Italians dry it. They warned that I was going to end up with a gloppy bowl of mush. These guys are Foodies so I left the bakery wondering if what I had understood to be the nature of angel hair was just an ignorant inexperienced unsophisticated understanding.

But we just finished dinner, I thought the pasta was great. I love what Karl is doing, and I hope he continues to grow and expand and do well. And I will buy his pasta again.

1. Start a pot of salted water boiling.

2. Slice up some prosciutto and fry in a little olive oil. Put into a large bowl.

3. In same pan, toast up the pine nuts. Put in same bowl as prosciutto.

4. In same pan, saute up some minced shallots. Just before shallots are done, add some minced garlic and barely saute. Add to same bowl.

5. Slice/Shred some basil and add to the bowl.

6. Zest 2 lemons into bowl and add the juice of one of the lemons.

7. Add some olive oil and too much fresh grated Parmesan. Lots of fresh ground pepper and salt.

8. When water is boiling, throw pasta into water. I counted to 30 (prob, about a minute) and then drained it.

9. As I added the pasta to the bowl, I poured in a little half n' half to help blend the flavors.


I chose the flavors for Eric, my main squeeze and food muse. He liked it a lot. And that is what matters most to me.