Ep. 20 - Roasted Red Pepper and Pine Nut Marinated Bocconcini, Proscuitto Bread Sticks, Apricot Glazed Chorizo

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

Roasted Red Pepper and Pine Nut Bocconcini:
325 g (10 oz)	Baby bocconcini cheese
170 g (5 oz)	Roasted red pepper, canned or freshly roasted
30 g (1 oz)	Toasted pine nuts
To taste	Salt and pepper

Proscuitto Bread Sticks:
8 pc	Dry bread sticks
100 g (3 oz)	Cream cheese, room temperature
8 slices	Proscuitto, thinly sliced

Apricot Glazed Chorizo:
3 pc	Dry cured chorizo sausage, sliced 12 mm (½“) on bias
60 mL (4 tbsp)	Apricot glaze or jam (with or without fruit chunks)
To taste	Fresh ground pepper

1	Fresh baguette, thinly sliced

Method

Roasted Red Pepper and Pine Nut Bocconcini

Place strained baby bocconcini into a medium size bowl.
Using the food processor or hand blender, purée the roasted red pepper and pine nuts into a smooth sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Pour roasted red pepper purée over the bocconcini and mix until well incorporated. Cover and set aside.

Tips

Large bocconcini quartered or cut in half may be used if baby bocconcini cheese is not available.
For homemade roasted peppers: drizzle two whole red peppers with oil and place into a toaster oven at 200ºC (400ºF). Roast until the skin of the peppers is well roasted and shriveled, about 10-15 min. Remove peppers from toaster oven and while still hot, place into a plastic bag and seal. Once peppers have cooled, remove them from the bag and cut them in half. Remove the seeds and use paper towel to peel and wipe off the skin.
Pine nuts may be roasted on low heat using a small sauté pan or in a toaster oven on a tray. Pine nuts burn very easily, stir often.

Proscuitto Bread Sticks:

Lay out four slices of proscuitto on a clean working surface. Spread a tablespoon of cream cheese on each slice spreading as evenly as possible.
Place a bread stick at one end of a proscuitto slice and roll.
Repeat the process with the remaining four bread sticks and proscuitto.

Tips

Use your choice of flavour and size of bread sticks.
Garlic, herb or plain boursin cheese, or other soft cheeses may be used with the proscuitto slices.

Apricot Glazed Chorizo:

Preheat electric skillet to 180ºC (350ºF).
Place chorizo slices in the skillet and caramelize on both sides.
Reduce heat to 150ºC (300ºF).
Add apricot glaze to the caramelized chorizo slices. Turn skillet off when the apricot glaze has almost melted completely and the slices are nicely glazed.

Tips

To Serve:

Use a large platter to arrange the proscuitto sticks, marinated bocconcini and apricot glazed chorizo slices.
Serve antipasto with slices of fresh baguette.

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Recommendations for this Recipe
Try using an Oster® Skillet when preparing this recipe.