Good Morning Darlings!

I love when I can match my friends up for any particular reason – professional, personal or whatever. And a couple of weeks ago I was able to do just that with John and Clint. John called me with a request for Cartoon Network goodies for a child he had adopted for Christmas. Clint is a bigwig at the Cartoon Network. Voila!

For the hand off of treats, I thought I would put together a little pasta for everyone. After all, John & Danny were just returning from Florida after Thanksgiving and Clint had just made the trek back from their mountain cabin. The fact that they were both willing to stop by our place after all that driving warmed my heart. So, I in turn, thought I would warm their bellies.

Fab friend Tami H. and her wildly popular blog, Running With Tweezers, came to my rescue. She had just posted about a whole wheat past dish with poppy seeds. And the nice folks from Jovial Pasta had just sent me some of their fabulous Einkorn whole wheat pasta to sample, so this was kismet.

I made a few adjustments to Tami’s recipe (I didn’t have proscuitto, so I subbed bacon and I didn’t have green onions, so I sauteed some regular onion with the bacon to sweeten it) but the end result was insanely tasty. At first you are thinking, “hmmm, that’s unusual.” But by the end of the bowl, everyone is so happy they are ready to do it all again.

Thanks, Miss Tami. I now know what that jar of poppy seeds in my spice drawer is for. Yum.

Here’s the recipe straight from the Running With Tweezers blog. You have got to check it out.

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Prosciutto, Poppy Seeds & Green Onions

serves 4 as a small main course

recipe adapted from a dish at SPQR in San Francisco

1 lb. whole wheat spaghetti or bucatini (I used Jovial Einkorn Whole Wheat Pasta)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 pound good quality prosciutto
4 – 5 green onions, chopped on the bias
4 tablespoons poppy seeds
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
– Start a large pot of salted water on to bring to a boil. While water is coming up to temperature, roughly chop the prosciutto into bite-sized pieces and set aside. Have your green onions and poppy seeds measured out and close at hand, as well, to assemble the dish. When the pasta is cooked al dente, reserve about 1/3 cup of the cooking liquid and drain the pasta.

– In a large saute pan, add your chopped prosciutto and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the butter and allow to melt. Once melted, add in the pasta and reserved cooking liquid. Toss thoroughly together and then add in the green onions and poppy seeds. Continue to toss together on medium-low heat for a minute or two to heat it all through together. At this point, grab a bite and taste for salt & pepper then adjust accordingly. Serve immediately.

This is the photo from Tami’s site. Mine was not as pretty. But it sure was good!

If you would like to learn more about Tami and how she makes everything look so gorgeous, you can check her out at this weekend’s Lavish! Unconference in Atlanta. Tami and all the other panelists have a plethora of fabulous things to share with you.

xoxo, Patti

Today blogging to Poppy Mercury – Badai Asmara