Brown Sugar Garlic Glazed Crispy Prosciutto + Roasted Carrot Pasta w/Truffle Oil & Thyme

Sometimes, simple is better...

But in most cases, it's not. And it's definitely not in this case. As you can tell the title of this post packs in several different flavors, and it's not even half of them.

Though, the first impression of this dish may be intimidating, I promise it really is easy! Honestly, it took me 40 minutes tops to prepare... and I stopped to take pictures quite a bit.

I know I haven't been posting a lot of savory meals or any meals for that fact. Most of my posts have been overwhelmed with healthy food, which is great, but that's not the point of this blog.

Yes, I love to eat/live healthy, exercise, etc. But I don't want this to become a health blog. I still want to cook comfort food, sweets, and just plain food in general without having to label it "healthy" or "clean eating". Cooking is my passion, not nutrition, although both are important to me.

I haven't cooked dinner in a long time. Not just any dinner but a real full-on entree. I've missed it. I've missed the smell of fresh herbs and sauteed garlic. And now that it's the summer I have no excuses. Since my family has dinner plans tonight, I decided just to whip up something, and hope it was blog worthy.

You didn't think just because I made "dinner" it wasn't going to be sweet though, did you? Well trust me, this will tease your sweet tooth. Get prepared to be craving some dessert after eating this, or reading it... For my parents it was originally a little too sweet for them as a main meal, I liked it, but that's coming from a girl who had chocolate fudge pancakes for lunch today. Anyways, I come bearing a sweet + spicy pasta dish, balanced with the saltiness from the prosciutto and parmesan, along with the perfect hint of earthiness from the truffle to tone all the craziness down. Seriously, this was an experiment- running back & forth feeding my mom, and asking what it needed!

Okay, enough with the rambling...

Brown Sugar, Prosciutto, Roasted Carrot & Truffle Pasta

Serves 4

8 oz. orecchiette

1/4 cup olive oil + 1 tbs. olive oil + 2 tbs. olive oil

3 oz. prosciutto

1 cup baby carrots- cut in half longways and then once more again

1/3 cup dry white wine

1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (less or more depending on how spicy you like it)

1/4 cup shaved parmesan

1 1/2 tsp. truffle oil

1/2 large sweet onion- diced

1 tbs. fresh thyme- roughly chopped to release aroma

salt/pepper to taste

1 1/2 tbs. champagne vinegar

1 1/2 tbs. brown sugar

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

3 + 1 garlic cloves- minced & separated

Bring water to a boil and drizzle 1 tbs. olive oil and a good amount of salt into it. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.

Preheat the oven the 400º F. Roast the carrots with 2 tbs. olive oil, salt and pepper for about 15-20 minutes or until roasted and soft with a little crisp.

On a separate pan, broil 1 oz. of the prosciutto until crispy- watch carefully! You can also saute in a separate pan but that would've been too much going on at once for me, and I didn't feel like burning anything.

Make a paste of the last 7 ingredients including the 1 garlic clove. Set aside.

Sautee the onion and garlic with salt, pepper, and 1tbs. fresh thyme over medium heat until halfway cooked down and soft. Add the other 2 oz. of the prosciutto and cook until onions are soft and the prosciutto is crisp/slightly browned- 5-8 minutes. Add the carrots and the brown sugar paste in and stir until all is coated.

Deglaze the pan with the wine to make a sauce. Cook down for 3-5 minutes.

Add the pasta and stir in the parmesan and truffle oil. Stir until incorporated. Throw in the 1 oz. of crispy prosciutto & lightly toss.

Serve immediately with chopped fresh thyme on top.