Prosciutto Bruschetta

with Caramelized Onions and Honey

Ingredients

1 loaf rustic bread (Italian, Wheat, Multi-grain and Sourdough are all fine)

olive oil

butter

salt

sugar

1/4 lb prosciutto di parma (thinly sliced)

Several onions (white, yellow or red) 1 medium vidalia onion

Honey

Caramelized Onions:

Heat a small frying prepared with vegetable spray and 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil.  Peel your onion (for those of us not in a demographic that is appropriate for a Wegman’s and quality produce, you probably have to go many layers deep till you get to usable onion).  Lop off the ends and start slicing ringlets. Big and small rings, all welcome.  Throw them into the pan and cook them up until they have a nice golden glaze with some crispness on the edges and accompanied by a sweet aroma.  Lay the onions onto paper towels to soak up any excess oil.  

While the onions settle, turn your oven to Broil on High.  As the oven heats up some, lay your bread horizontally and slice your bread (I used an oaty whole wheat loaf last night) vertically into 3/4 inch slices.   Place your slices (ignore the heels) directly on the top rack of your oven for 4 minutes before flipping to darken the other side for 3-4 more minutes.  You want to achieve a dark, golden-brown color and crispness to the bread.  *Keep an eye on them to ensure that they don’t char.

Remove the bread and lay the slices on a workspace.  Drizzle each slice with a little olive oil to give a little moisture to your toasted bread.  Fold 1 slice of your prosciutto in a ribbon fashion on top of each plank.  If you have small slices of meat or they fall apart when you peel them from your deli paper (or package if not near a good Italian deli or Wegman’s), use more to cover each slice.

Lay the caramelized onions over your prosciutto in a spread out fashion. Finish your bruschetta with a healthy drizzle of honey.  Cover the creation evenly and lightly, don’t over-saturate with honey or the balance of salty and sweet will be thrown off.  Bruschetta is typically a salty treat, the honey curbs that a little and also gives a golden shimmer to compliment the onions and serves as a contrast to the red of your meat.

Notes:

I pieced this together this truly easy appetizer recipe from memory and years of making it.  It is quick easy and any reason to eat prosciutto is fine with me!

Tweaks:

Most recipes I have found over the years that involve caramelizing onions are, in my opinion, overkill and have unnecessary ingredients like sugar, salt and butter.  They already require pan frying, isn’t that unhealthy enough?  Skip the salt, sugar and butter. Ignore the white, yellow and red onions when at the store and pick a true vidalia. The magic of what is in these onions really brings out a great favor when cooked. They already have the sweetness in them and the prosciutto will more than make up for the salt.

Verdict: Success


This appetizer is always a winner and definitely a neighbor-worthy plate. 



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