Penne with ham and lettuce sauce: a tasty recipe to empty the fridge.

PENNE WITH HAM RECIPE

This flavorful and tasty dish is one of the many examples of a "clean out the fridge" dish—that is, when we open the refrigerator door, find a few leftovers here and there, and create recipes that we can then write down in our recipe book under "leftover dish." The end result is mouth-watering.
Here's our recipe for a less wasteful variation of penne with ham.

PENNE WITH HAM

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 320 grams of penne (or other pasta, even long)
• 1 spring onion stalk
• 1 small slice of raw ham
• 5 – 6 lettuce leaves (including the outermost ones)
• 3 tablespoons of ricotta
• 4 spoons of extra virgin olive oil
• Coarse and fine salt

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Preparation

• Rinse Carefully wash the lettuce leaves, place them in a small saucepan with very little water and a pinch of salt, and boil them, making sure to reduce as much of the water as possible. It will only take a few minutes.
• Put to heat the water to cook the pasta, with a heaped teaspoon of coarse salt
• To clean e to slice Finely chop the spring onion and brown it in the oil over a low heat, using a large frying pan or saucepan (it will also need to contain the pasta)
• Meanwhile cut Dice the prosciutto and add it to the sautéed mixture. It should become nice and crispy.
• Drain the lettuce, transfer it to the blender with the ricotta and blend everything, adjusting the salt
• In the meantime, cook the pasta. Once cooked according to personal taste, drain it and review it in a pan with ham
• Enlarge on the bottom of the plates the lettuce cream, complete with the ham pasta and serve immediately.

PENNE WITH HAM AND LETTUCE SAUCE

Precisely because it's leftover, this recipe lends itself to many variations. For example, we can use pancetta or speck instead of ham, cream or yogurt instead of ricotta, or another sweet salad instead of lettuce. To save as much as possible, remember that cured meat trimmings are small, whole pieces that delicatessens no longer use and are sold at very reasonable prices. They're perfect for cooking. Spring onion stalks can be kept for a few days in the refrigerator, or, cleaned, in the freezer.

DELICIOUS FIRST COURSE RECIPES:

• Nettle risotto: a recipe for a first course with a unique flavor, thanks also to pepper and cloves.
• Carrot and potato gnocchi: a delicious first course recipe with paprika and nutmeg.
• Penne with cauliflower and pancetta: a pistachio pesto recipe that uses up vegetable scraps.
• Pasta with courgettes, pine nuts and fennel seeds: a summer recipe that combines nutrition and flavour.
• Pasta with anchovies: a recipe with pine nuts and one using leftover bread, bringing imagination and flavor to the table.