One woman's foray into cooking for herself, for her family, and for her friends. It's not always picture-perfect, sometimes a little messy,
but it's always delicious. Join me in exploring new recipes, savoring the "résultats" and learning from the "erreurs".



Saturday, April 17, 2010

Saturday Blog Showcase #15 - Spanish Varillas

It's time for Saturday Blog Showcase again.  Thanks to Ann (Thibeault's Table) for hosting this week!  We'd love to have you join us.  To participate, make a recipe from another blog, introducing us to the original blog (or reminding us of one we already love!)  Link back to that blog and place the Saturday Blog Showcase logo on your post.  Then sign in to Mr. Linky (located at Thibeault's Table this week), and that's all there is to it!  It's a great way to show appreciation to the many great cooks of blogdom!


This week, i discovered a blog called Spache the Spatula.  With beautiful photography and delicious-looking and -sounding recipes, I knew my pick would not disappoint.  And it did not!  A simple recipe, but full of flavor, an appetizer called Spanish Varillas caught my eye.  With great ingredients like Prosciutto di Parma and goat cheese and arugula, how could it be anything but great?  A simple goat cheese mixture is spread over the prosciutto, layered with arugula and wrapped around a crispy breadstick, and cocktail hour is complete.  Absolutely delicious!  Thank you, Rachael! 

Spanish Varaillas

-Prosciutto di Parma (or serrano ham), sliced very thin
-crispy bread sticks (you could get flavored ones if you want but I just stuck with the traditional; also, I could only find grissini, the very thin breadsticks - so I used 2 per 'roll')
-goat's milk cream cheese (I couldn't find this but did find a creamy goat cheese - I used about 1/2 cup)
-chives, diced
-sun-dried tomatoes (I  used three), minced
-pinch of freshly ground pepper
-pinch of sea salt
-baby arugula (I used a mixture of baby arugula and baby spinach)


Mix together the chives, pepper, sea salt, sun-dried tomato, and cream cheese in a small bowl.  Spread the cream cheese mixture over one side of a slice of prosciutto and add the arugula on top of that.  Carefully roll the prosciutto around a bread stick. Repeat for as many as your heart desires.

Serve with leftover cream cheese mixture to dip!

11 comments:

Thibeault's Table said...

OOOH Lori, they really look good. I like that you used Grissini. My favourite kind of bread stick. I could make a whole meal out of them.

Ann

Rettabug said...

This really looks lovely, Lori & so simple, too! My kinda recipe. ;-) I know DH would ♥ this.

The last time I bought Prosciutto di Parma at our specialty store it was close to $17/#!!! Of course, you don't need too much but still. ~insert rolled eyes~~
I need to find a different source or use the serrano ham instead. Thanks for the suggestion & the recipe.

La Table De Nana said...

We love this..your photos are great!

Rachael said...

Your Varillas look gorgeous!
I'm so glad you liked the recipe :)
Thanks so much for featuring me!

Foodiewife said...

I am always looking for simple tapas for Friday Night Happy Hour, at my house. These are lovely!

Sarah said...

Those look like a wonderful bite before dinner.

Kathy Walker said...

These would be a great appetizer! Yum!

Barbara said...

Simple and delicious...perfect combination. I'd love these with a glass of wine and think I may do it for a group next weekend!

Becky said...

Lori, those look great. Since you enjoyed these, you might also like Watercress Salad Wrapped in Purple Haze Chèvre and Prosciutto. Here's the link, if you are interested.

http://decolady-randommusings.blogspot.com/2009/01/barefoot-bloggers-cheese-platter.html

Sevenbeads said...

How appetizing! I'm sure they taste as wonderful as they look.

Anonymous said...

I made these last weekend and they were great! I combined ricotta and goat cheese to make it easy to spread. But these were truly delicious!

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