Becky Ellis, who likes to make her own recipes, has added prosciutto to the classic chickpeas.
Becky Ellis / NPR’s Collage
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Becky Ellis / NPR’s Collage
Becky Ellis, who likes to make her own recipes, has added prosciutto to the classic chickpeas.
Becky Ellis / NPR’s Collage
All Things We’re Cooking is a series of family recipes created by you, our readers and listeners, and the special stories behind them. We’ll continue to share more of your kitchen treasures throughout the holiday season.
In Becky Ellis’ house, a Thanksgiving table isn’t complete unless there’s a chickpea casserole — and in most cases there are actually two types of common side dishes on the table.
Ellis lives in Roanoke, Va., where she grew up on her mother’s chickpea casserole. But as a food blogger and recipe developer, Ellis prefers to do things on her own and decided to test the classic by adding prosciutto.
“My husband loves prosciutto, but he likes to bake or fry. He likes it crispy,” Ellis said, explaining her inspiration for the supplement.
Prosciutto is deep-fried in a pan before being placed on paper towels to absorb some of the oil. Then, Ellis boils fresh green beans until tender – adding pork leg for flavor. The chickpeas are then mixed with a cup of grated Parmesan and half a cup of panko bread crumbs before the whole mixture is topped with several pieces of butter and finished with crumbled prosciutto.
Unlike many traditional recipes, Ellis’ chickpea prosciutto casserole doesn’t include cream of mushroom soup or fried onions, but that doesn’t mean people like it any less.
“I always bring the chickpea prosciutto casserole to any holiday event – you know, Thanksgiving, Christmas,” she says. “And if I don’t show up with it, they [would] send me home to make it because they love it so much.’
If there’s any doubt about the recipe her husband, Lou, inspired, Ellis has received what you could say is the ultimate seal of approval. “My nieces and nephews when they were teenagers, you know, teenagers are picky eaters and they absolutely love this,” she said. “And so I know that this is a good recipe.”
The recipe combines fairly quickly, but if you’re preparing for a large gathering like Thanksgiving and want to save time, Ellis recommends frying the prosciutto the day before.
Parmesan Prosciutto Green Beans
Recipe posted by Becky Ellis
Roanoke, Va.
Element
- 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans
- 1 pork leg
- 3 ounces prosciutto (I use the packaged Boar’s Head brand. Sliced prosciutto in deli can be fried not very tasty.)
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 stick of butter, cut into small pieces
Direction
Wash green beans, remove stems. Place them in a large pot of boiling water along with the pork legs (no need to add salt, as this recipe has lots of salty ingredients).
Cook beans until they are soft. Drain the chickpeas and remove the ham, then set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Add vegetable oil to the pan and place over medium-high heat.
When the oil is hot, place the prosciutto slices in the pan and fry, flipping once until the prosciutto is crispy.
Remove the slices from the pan and place on a plate lined with paper towels.
In a bowl, combine Parmesan bread crumbs and panko.
Place the chickpeas on a baking dish and sprinkle with the panko bread crumb mixture. Toss to combine.
Dot green beans with butter.
Mash the prosciutto and sprinkle on top of the chickpeas.
Place the chickpeas in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
