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You are here: Home / Arugula / Pasta with Peaches, Prosciutto and Arugula: Cooking in Italy

Pasta with Peaches, Prosciutto and Arugula: Cooking in Italy

July 3, 2015 By Laura 9 Comments

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Pasta with Peaches, Prosciutto and Arugula is a fresh, healthy and delicious celebration of the flavors of Italy. Affiliate links were used in this post to link to items I am discussing.

Pasta with Peaches, Prosciutto and Arugula: a delicious and healthy meal I whipped up one evening while we were living in Italy!

I was torn about whether to post this–the dish was delicious, but the pictures not so much. I obviously did not have any of the props I use for plating, but more importantly I also did not have my camera. When traveling, John and I have always been big on the experience over recording the experience, although the latter is important, and we do not ever carry any kind of big camera. And I especially missed my tripod. All I had was my iPhone.

So if you are visiting my site for the first time, I promise I usually take better pictures!

Cooking in Rende, Italy

We had a kitchen in Italy, but I did not cook much. Honestly, for my style of cooking, the lack of a pantry was just really difficult. The lack of spices was the big one, as well as the fact that all meals needed to be shopped for, thus requiring more time and effort.  We made 2 pasta tosses, of which I am sharing one, a salad that you can see in the collage, and a tomato and arugula frittata that you can see in the collage. That last one was nerve wracking, as I was not sure my pan was oven safe and I only had a metal spatula for serving the frittata from a nonstick pan. But it was this pasta toss that was the clear winner.

Pasta with Peaches, Prosciutto and Arugula: a delicious and healthy meal I whipped up one evening while we were living in Italy!

I’ve told you guys before about Kate Caldesi’s Wild Rosemary and Lemon Cake: A Collection of Italian Recipes from the Amalfi Coast–and I still recommend that cookbook so much if you have any interest in the cooking of southern Italy–and because of it I knew that lemons were a common ingredient in Italy. But I would never have guessed how common. For the rest of my life, lemons (which are in this dish, albeit unseen) and arugula will taste like Italy to me. And I cannot tell you how happy that makes me, after a lifetime of resisting red and whites sauces, which I do not love, to have found such quintessentially Italian ingredients to love.

Speaking of the arugula, serving the pasta on a bed of fresh arugula is not something that would ever have occurred to me before Italy. There was arugula everywhere there–and happily I love arugula. I loved it more cooked, in the frittata I made, and I loved it slightly wilted, in this dish. I loved it in the myriad salads that I ordered throughout Italy (salads were huge there and have given me so many ideas!!). It works beautifully in this dish–the peppery bitter of the arugula is tamed by the sweet onions, peaches and tomatoes and the sour lemon. The more I write about it, as a matter of fact, the more I think that someday soon I might have some better pictures to add to this post as I make it again!

Pasta with Peaches, Prosciutto and Arugula: a delicious and healthy meal I whipped up one evening while we were living in Italy!

Pasta with Peaches, Prosciutto and Arugula: a delicious and healthy meal I whipped up one evening while we were living in Italy!
Print
Pasta with Peaches, Prosciutto and Arugula
I was cooking in Italy, using Italian ingredients as they were available to me at that moment in time. Use your common sense for substitutions: if it is peach season, use ripe peaches. Any prosciutto crudo will work. Green onions and red or yellow onions together will substitute for the fresh dug red onions. Regular garlic for the barely cured garlic. Etcetera.
Course: Entree
Cuisine: Italian
Author: TheSpicedLife
Ingredients
  • 1 lb dried trofie pasta, cooked to desired doneness
  • 1-2 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 small fresh dug red onions, thinly sliced
  • 6 cloves young garlic, minced
  • 2 T minced fresh thyme
  • 4 small hard (underripe) peaches, thinly sliced
  • 6 slices of prosciutto crudo, thinly sliced, I used prosciutto San Daniele
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup white wine (I used pino grigio)
  • zest of 1 large lemon
  • juice of 1 large lemon
  • 2 inches of greens from the onions, chopped, or use green onions
  • 1 T unsalted butter
  • several handfuls cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half if large
  • Arugula, 1-2 handfuls per serving
Instructions
  1. Add the olive oil to a nonstick skillet and heat over medium high heat. When it is hot, add the onions with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until the onions are beginning to caramelize. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for another 2 minutes.
  2. Add the peaches with another pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the prosciutto and stir, cooking for another 2 minutes.
  3. Add the wine with the zest of the lemon. Bring to a boil and then reduce to maintain a brisk simmer. Simmer until most of the excess liquid is evaporated, about 5-10 minutes. Add a few grinds of fresh pepper. Add the cooked pasta, chopped green onions, butter and lemon juice and taste for additional salt.
  4. Turn off the heat and add the tomatoes. Serve over a bed of fresh arugula.

 

Filed Under: Arugula, Italian, Italy 2015, pasta, peaches, tomatoes, travel Tagged With: arugula, Italian, Italy, lemons, pasta, peaches, tomatoes, travel, trofie, white wine, wine

« Beef and Mushroom Kheema with Rhubarb; Beaches of Southern Italy pt. 2
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Comments

  1. Joanne says

    July 6, 2015 at 6:36 am

    Yes!! I think especially in southern Italy, lemons and arugula are HUGE. So glad you found something to love. This pasta looks fabulous!

    Reply
  2. Florian @ContentednessCooking says

    July 9, 2015 at 3:35 am

    This looks fantastic perfect for any summer gatherings or BBQs!

    Reply
  3. Michelle @ The Complete Savorist says

    July 9, 2015 at 3:56 am

    I love your inclusion of peaches. I tend to gravitate towards adding sweet fruit into savory dishes. Love this.

    Reply
  4. Judy@ImBoredLetsGo says

    July 9, 2015 at 7:45 am

    Well, even if you think your photos aren’t up to your standard they still make me want this! Sounds incredible!

    Reply
  5. Julie @ Texan New Yorker says

    July 9, 2015 at 7:57 am

    I love sweet summer fruits in savory pasta dishes! I’m sure the arugula was a beautiful balancing note too. Sounds amazing!

    Reply
  6. jean | lemons & anchovies says

    July 9, 2015 at 1:19 pm

    This is so my kind of pasta dish. I love the ode to summer from the peaches and it’s nice to see someone else add arugula to their pasta. It’s something I like to do in summer to make my pasta a one-dish meal. Even mixed greens work really well. Love this!

    Reply
  7. Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious says

    July 13, 2015 at 9:19 am

    Wonderful recipe, and the on-the-fly photography doesn’t bother me at all!

    Reply
  8. Laura @MotherWouldKnow says

    July 13, 2015 at 2:31 pm

    Just this weekend, a friend served fish on a bed of spinach and I thought “how Italian!” I love this post, especially your recollections of how cooking in someone else’s kitchen, without equipment and spices you’re used to, made it difficult for you – but you persevered and the dish is lovely even if you’re not entirely satisfied with the photos:)

    Reply
  9. Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life says

    July 14, 2015 at 9:18 am

    I need to cook with peaches more! This sounds like a great dish! I love sweet and savory together!

    Reply

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Hi! I’m Laura and I am a recovering history major who has re-channeled all of my passion for learning about the history of different countries to learning about their food culture. That doesn’t mean every dish on here is strictly authentic, but it does mean that even my adaptations are not undertaken lightly. My goal is to show you–by doing–that these dishes are possible in your kitchen. Including desserts because I have quite the sweet tooth! Read More…

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