Cheese Pasta Roll with Tomato Sauce
This uptown version of macaroni and cheese combines spinach pasta, Prosciutto, and three cheeses into colorful pasta roulades, served with fresh tomato sauce.
Ingredients
- Tomato Sauce
- Tomatoes - 1 pound
- Unsalted Butter - 2 tablespoons
- Shallots - 2, peeled and minced
- Bouquet Garni - rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, and crushed peppercorns, tied in cheesecloth
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Pasta Roll
- Unsalted Butter - 2 tablespoons
- Smoked Ham - 1/2 cup, diced
- Scallions - 4, minced
- Softened Cream Cheese - 8 ounces
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese - 1/4 cup
- Ricotta cheese - 1/2 cup
- Freshly ground black pepper - 1/2 teaspoon
- Eggs - 2
- Fresh Spinach Pasta - 2 sheets, 2 sheets fresh spinach pasta, 12-by-4 inches each
- Melted Butter - 1 tablespoon
- Prosciutto - 1-1/2 pound, 1/4 inch or less thick
- Chicken Stock - 1 gallon
- Chives - 6, chopped
Instructions
To prepare the sauce: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drop the tomatoes briefly in the boiling water, then remove with a slotted spoon and place in ice water. Slip off the skins. Remove the seeds and chop the tomatoes. Melt the butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute, covered, for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bouquet garni. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the shallots and bouquet garni, then puree the tomatoes. Set aside.
To prepare the pasta roll: In a saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat and add the ham and scallions. Cook about 2 minutes, until the scallions are softened. Beat the cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, ricotta, and pepper together until smooth. Add the sauteed ham and scallions to the cheese mixture, then add the eggs and mix well. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 to 3 hours.
Spread the pasta sheets on a work surface. Spread half the cheese filling on one pasta sheet, leaving a half-inch border. Brush the ends with melted butter. Place a layer of sliced Prosciutto over the filling. Beginning at one of the narrow ends of the sheet, gently roll it up. Do not roll too loosely or the poaching liquid may seep into the cheese-meat mixture. Wrap the roll in a double thickness of cheesecloth and tie each end securely with kitchen string. Repeat with the other sheet of pasta.
Fill a large saute pan with chicken stock. Bring to a boil and add the pasta rolls. Reduce heat to simmer and cook gently, turning occasionally, for 25 minutes. Drain and cool before removing the cheesecloth.
To serve: Cut each pasta roll in half-inch slices and arrange on serving plates. Spoon tomato sauce on the plates. Garnish with chopped chives. The rolls may be served warm or at room temperature.
