Bruschetta Pasta

One of my favourite Italian appetisers is bruschetta. Love it! Great as a starter or entrée, but not really a main meal kind of food right? Guess again...

I decided to create a main meal pasta dish with all the familiar flavours of bruschetta, with tomatoes, garlic and basil. And so this bruschetta pasta recipe was born.

The "crunch" in the title comes from the garlic croutons I use to replicate the grilled or toasted bread in traditional bruschetta - and I also added in some prosciutto. The slight saltiness of the prosciutto really kicks it up a notch!

How to make bruschetta pasta

• Cook and drain your pasta (reserving 2-3 tablespoons of pasta water) then set aside.
• Meanwhile, add some halved garlic cloves to melted butter, then add some cubed bread and mix to coat well - I use a silicone pastry brush for this - and set aside.
• In a large pan fry the bread cubes (reserving the garlic) until golden and set aside.
• In the same pan, fry prosciutto slices until brown and crisp - you may need to do this in batches - set aside cooked prosciutto on paper towel to drain then roughly chop.
• Fry the chopped tomatoes until slightly charred and collapsed.
• Crush reserved garlic into pan with tomatoes, also adding the basil, vinegar and chopped prosciutto.
• Add cooked pasta, lemon juice plus 2-3 tblsp of reserved pasta water to the pan to create a sauce.
• Once reheated, serve bruschetta pasta immediately topped with croutons.

If it's summer where you are and you have a garden overflowing with cherry tomatoes and fresh basil, then this bruschetta pasta will make great use of them!

If you like bruschetta you will LOVE this pasta! Thanks for reading - see you soon...

Lee-Ann ♥

Suggested Sides:

Cheesy Garlic Flatbread with Herbs

Quick Garlic Rolls (No Yeast)

Crunchy Bruschetta Pasta with Prosciutto

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Crunchy Bruschetta Pasta with Prosciutto - the traditional flavour & crunch of tomato and basil bruschetta as a pasta dish, with the added kick of prosciutto.

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Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 450kcal

Author: Lee-Ann Grace

Ingredients

• 250 g dried angel hair pasta
• 500 g cherry tomatoes
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 8 thin slices of prosciutto
• ⅔ cup fresh basil leaves
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 4 garlic cloves sliced in half
• 4 thick slices sourdough bread about 2 cups - in 1cm or ½ inch cubes
• ½ teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1 lemon - juice only
• 50 g fresh parmesan cheese grated

Instructions

• Cook pasta according to packet directions, drain & reserve 2-3 tbsp. pasta cooking water - set aside.
• Meanwhile melt the butter in a medium microwave safe bowl.
• Add the garlic and mix to infuse.
• Add bread cubes to butter mixture, and coat well - I use a silicone pastry brush for this - then aside.
• Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat, add bread cubes (reserving the garlic) and fry for 4 mins turning often, until crisp - remove to a plate.
• Add prosciutto to pan and fry for 2 mins until it starts to brown and crisp, then remove to plate lined with paper towel to drain then chop roughly.
• Add olive oil and tomatoes to pan and fry for 4 mins until slightly charred and collapsed.
• Crush reserved garlic into pan, adding basil, prosciutto and vinegar - cook for 1 min then turn heat down to low.
• Add drained pasta, 2-3 tbsp. pasta cooking water and lemon juice - mix for 1-2 mins to reheat and combine.
• Serve immediately topped with crunchy garlic croutons and grated parmesan.

Notes

I have set out the steps for this recipe in a specific order to maximise the flavour of the garlic in the croutons, but also making the time as short as possible - if you have more time you could do the prep in any order you like but the croutons will benefit from some time to soak up all that garlic butter goodness!

I have used Angel Hair pasta for efficiency (it only takes 2 mins to cook!!! yay!!!) but you could use any pasta you like.

*Please note that the amount of calories per serve is provided as a guide only, as ingredients and cooking methods can vary greatly*