Mozzarella Wrapped In Prosciutto With Basil Sauce

I was going to bring you a recipe for a zucchini and sausage layered casserole today, but the pictures didn’t quite come out the way Peter and I wanted them too. And by the time we realized this, the casserole was already gobbled up by my hungry family. Oh, the joys of food blogging. Sometimes it’s just tough to keep the food from being eaten long enough to shoot good pics.

I’ll make it again this next week, which my family probably won’t mind, because it is sooo delicious.

So in the meantime, I have a very tempting appetizer for you. Sweet ground sausage and creamy mozzarella wrapped in delicate slices of prosciutto. You can double or even triple the recipe if you decide to make this for your next dinner party. I just made five of theses bundles as an appetizer tonight.

We don’t have appetizers every night, but sometimes it’s nice to add a special appetizer to make everyone feel a little bit more love. This is so simple to make and really adds an extra special touch to dinner.

Begin with uncooked sweet Italian ground sausage. Premio is gluten free. For five rolls, you will only need abut 4 1/2 ounces of meat. Choose either the sausage meat or sweet mild sausages slipping two of the sausages out of the casing. Either way you will brown the meat in a pan with a little water. Crumble up the sausage with a spatula while it sautés.

Refrigerate the unused meat. (You can always make sausage and peppers or stuffed mushrooms with the rest of the  meat within the next two days.)

Now, for each mozzarella bundle, begin with 2 slices of prosciutto slightly overlapping each other and top with cooked sweet ground sausage then with mozzarella. Then just roll the prosciutto around.

Place each bundle on a baking tray, sprinkle with a little pepper and bake for 8-10 minutes or until mozzarella softens.

Meanwhile, make this delightful basil sauce. Blend fresh basil and garlic in your food processor until finely chopped. Then with the motor running, gradually add oil and process until smooth. Season with salt, spoon sauce onto each plate and top with mozzarella bundles.

Mmm. Just look at that!  Mozzarella Wrapped In Prosciutto With Basil Sauce is a scrumptious way to start dinner. Buon appetito!

Mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto with basil sauce

 

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Serves: 5 rolls

Ingredients

• 10 slices prosciutto (I used two 4 oz. packages Applegate brand; it's gluten free)
• 8 oz. mozzarella (I used Organic Valley)
• 4½ oz. Premio sweet Italian sausage
• Pepper, to taste
• 2 tsp. garlic
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 cups basil leaves, lightly packed
• ½ cup olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350℉.
2. Begin with uncooked sweet Italian ground sausage.Choose either the sausage meat or sweet mild sausages slipping the sausage out of its casing. Either way you will brown the meat in a pan with a little water. Crumble up the sausage with a spatula while it sautés.
3. Cut mozzarella into 5 pieces.
4. For each mozzarella bundle, begin with 2 slices of prosciutto slightly overlapping each other and top with cooked sweet ground sausage, then with mozzarella. Then roll the prosciutto around.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place each bundle on the baking sheet, sprinkle with a little pepper and bake for 8-10 minutes or until mozzarella softens.
6. Meanwhile, blend fresh basil and garlic in your food processor until finely chopped. Then with the motor running, gradually add oil and process until smooth. Season with salt.
7. To serve, spoon sauce onto each plate and top with a mozzarella bundle.

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