Everyone is more or less familiar with the amazingly delicious--and simple--Italian recipe of prosciutto and melon, where fresh cantaloupe is wrapped in that wonderfully salty cured meat. The sweetness of the melon plays nicely with the saltiness of the prosciutto, making it a crowd-pleaser. Because of its short prep time (I literally just slice the melon and drape prosciutto over it), this dish is one of my favorite summer appetizers to serve.
Freshly plated appetizers on a hand-made mica clay platter made by KlaybyKate.
I found myself playing around with this combination of salty and sweet when I got one too many organic apricots at the store. It is a well-known fact that I have little to no self-control when it comes to the fresh fruit of the summer season; I see it, I buy it. So there I was with too many apricots, some prosciutto, and in the needing to put together an appetizer for my family's regular Sunday dinner. The apricots were perfectly ripe and tartly sweet. Why not, I asked myself, swap out the traditional melon with these stone fruits for a riff on a classic recipe? I tried it; I served it to my family-- the prosciutto wrapped apricots didn't last long. They were fantastic! The tart and sweet of the apricots were the perfect contrast to the salty cured meat. Now some people prefer to grill the apricots or used dried apricots. However, I decided to leave them raw in my recipe because a perfectly ripe apricot is hard to beat. Plus, I am all in favor of less time over a hot stove in the summer and more time enjoying a cocktail and appetizers outside. I used only a little bit of prosciutto for each apricot half, but feel free to experiment with the ratio--you may want to quarter your fruit and wrap more of the salty meat around it. It just depends on your personal preference; my family liked more fruit and less prosciutto.
Ingredients:
8 apricots halved
1/4 lb prosciutto (more or less)
Gently wrap prosciutto slices around each apricot half, using 1/4 to 1/2 of a prosciutto slice per half of fruit, then plate them. Serve immediately. Serves anywhere from 2-6 people, depending on how much you want to nibble before dinner. Enjoy!
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