Prosciutto, Fig & Arugula Salad

It was such a good eating summer that I’m still thinking about it. Not only did my mother make the most wonderful fried zucchini flowers, but she also prepared Mario Batali’s recipe for grilled fig and prosciutto salad from his cookbook Simple Italian Food. Lightly grilled figs, olive oil, rosemary, parsley, arugula, and balsamic vinegar made this dish perfect.

There were fresh fig trees growing outside of my apartment on New York University’s campus in Florence, Italy.  I would pick a few and eat them fresh and whole. Those were the days. Of course, I was on duty 24 hours a day and lived on campus, but, the figs! The figs!

I’ve seen them in supermarkets around Washington, D.C., late summer and early fall, but they never look spectacular. Or, they do and they are terribly expensive. Have you found a great market for figs?

Lioni Latticini’s Bocconcini Wrapped with Proscuitto

Sometimes it seems disappointing that the hunt for most Italian products is over, now that most things are not only imported, but also made by American manufacturers.

On the other hand, how lovely!

My mother recently bought fresh mozzarella from Lioni Latticini’s and followed their online recipe for Bocconcini Wrapped with Proscuitto. It is a little risky to cook mozzarella, for both the final product and the person who has to clean the pan, but on a low enough heat, these little mozzarella balls warmed up nicely and the prosciutto did, too. With some fresh sage and olive oil, it is a quick and delicious appetizer. The salt in the prosciutto is a lovely addition to the unsalted mozzarella.