Italian-American Meatballs, From a 1940's Recipe

There are as many "authentic" Italian meatball recipes on the web as there are stars in the sky with each chef making slight changes to their recipe to differentiate it from the others.  Of course my recipe dips back into the hallowed mists of antiquity to come up with something that an Italian would be proud to claim as their own.  Italian food was introduced into the US during the 1890's during the great wave of immigration from Europe.  It really didn't come into it's own though until the depression era when "Italian" food usually meant spaghetti with ketchup or some thin sauce and meat when it was affordable.  This recipe is adapted from "The St. Mary's Square Cookbook", St. Michaels, Maryland.  It was printed in 1966 but the recipes are older having been treasured family heirlooms shared with the museum to help in the restoration of the little old house built c.1700.

Spaghetti With Prosciutto Recipe

I was looking for something different for dinner the other night and as I had acquired a few packages of prosciutto when they were on bogo at Publix I thought this was the best dish to try first.  Although it has tomatoes in it the sauce is a spicy olive oil based sauce familiar to Southern Italian cuisine.  Serve with some good crusty Italian bread to mop up the olive oil and you're in heaven.

Spaghetti With Prosciutto de Parma (Parma Ham)

8oz Spaghetti Noodles
8 Thin slices of Parma Ham, julienned
4-5 Cloves of Garlic, peeled and sliced thin
6 Campari Tomatoes, quartered
1/4C Chopped Fresh Italian Parsley
1/3C Good Quality Virgin Olive Oil
1tsp Hot Pepper Flakes

Cook you spaghetti according to box directions, drain, cover and put aside.  In frying pan heat your oil until shimmering and add garlic.  Fry garlic 1 min until fragrant and add chili flakes.  Keep sauteing until garlic is tasted a nice brown color.  Reduce heat and add tomatoes and ham, fry with residual heat until tomatoes and ham are wilted about a minute.  Add drained spaghetti and parsley and stir well until mixed.  Serve immediately with Parmesan cheese.  This recipe yields a moderately spicy dish.  Adjust the pepper flakes up or down according to your taste.