Hong Kong Ham n Cheese - (Whatever. You'll love this.)

Hong Kong Ham n Cheese you say? Well... that's what I call it, so what? Even though I am not at all sure that Hong Kongers actually eat ham and cheese... I make a mental note to check into it.

I saw this concept while watching the Travel Channel about traveling to Italy. An Italian chef was demonstrating this dish with homemade pasta sheets that he cut into squares. I was instantly reminded of ravioli and convinced that I'm about to see an interesting take on a ravioli recipe. What he proceeds to do is to layer cheese, prosciutto onto the "ravioli" square and roll up like an enchilada. He cuts the roll-up in half and stands them upright in a round buttered ramekin.

Thoroughly intrigued, I watched the rest of show, running through a list of the super simple ingredients for the "rosetti" in my head:

• Pasta sheets
• Provolone slices
• Proscuitto slices
• Heavy cream
• salt, pepper

Not only did it look astoundingly simple and super easy to make, but it looked so creamy and delicious, I was pretty sure I'd never think of pasta and cheese the same way again.

Inspired, I try to think of ways to substitute the ingredients I didn't have on hand for my impromptu cooking event. I instantly jump off the couch and rummage through the freezer briefly before unearthing a perfectly frozen block of wonton wrappers, Hong Kong style. I smile to myself. "Oh you clever girl," I say to myself in my mind, a warm knowing building in my gastro-soul. Oh yes, this was gonna work in a spectacularly good sorta way.

My substitutions start to make me giddy as I go through my ingredients and start to gather my goodies for the experiment:

• Wonton wrappers, Hong Kong style = Pasta sheets
• Serrano ham = Prosciutto

Oh Hong Kong!  Just you wait and see how I cross some culinary borders with you.

The ingredients are simple, easy to obtain and I almost always have all of it on hand any given day in my kitchen, except for the fresh pasta sheets.

Believe it or not, I almost always have prosciutto on hand as well, but too impatient to wait or cut it thinly, I grab the next closest, porky thing: my beloved Serrano ham. Serrano ham is Prosciutto's Spanish cousin and I buy it weekly, sliced very thin for the kids subs or quesadillas or salads. Very similar to prosciutto, but slightly sweeter.

Even though I don't have fresh pasta and could make it, I opt for ravioli's ethnic counter part: the humble wonton wrapper. I always have those on hand. Always. I will usually buy several packages at the Asian grocery store and keep them in the freezer until I need them. Tonight, I need them and knowing they defrost fairly quick, I take them out and self-rationalize that 20 minutes or so to wait for them to thaw was really not that long to wait for what I was convinced, would be, a culinary quick meal masterpiece.

Staples, reconfigured and reinterpreted in a comfort food-y kind of way.  My version, compared to the more elaborate Italian version, makes this a super fast throw down kinda family meal.

No matter what the heck you want to call it: Hong Kong Ham n Cheese, Minnesota Mac-n Hotdish, Italian Rosettis.... it will become a go-to. It has such a luscious, unctuous texture and flavor profile that you will seriously be able to con anyone into believing you slaved all day. Trust me.

So let's get on with it, shall we?

What you need:

• Shallow round baking dish or ramekins, buttered
• 1 package of square wonton wrappers, Hong Kong style
• Heavy cream
• salt
• Fresh cracked black pepper
• Sliced Serrano ham (prosciutto, honey or smoked ham, Canadian bacon)
• Provolone slices

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. From here, I did exactly what the Italian dude did, using my substitutions for pasta and ham instead.  I took out a wonton wrapper, layered a piece of sliced provolone on top, layered a piece of sliced ham on top of the provolone, then gently but firmly rolled the whole thing up. I cut each rolled wonton in half.
3. I used 3 inch buttered ramekins and stood each of the wonton halves upright on their ends, repeating the process until I had a fairly tightly packed little ramekin stuffed with stuffed rollups, standing flat on their ends. 
4. Drizzle in enough heavy cream on top of the roll ups until it just comes to the top of the roll ups.
5. Sprinkle salt and cracked black pepper on top to taste.

Bake:

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until the tops are golden and bubbly. 

**To be cautious and avoid a mess, I put the ramekins on a cookie sheet just in case the bubbling cheese bubbles over in the oven.

Now, just go ahead and try your best to wait for them to cool... First of all, the smell of them baking in the oven will have you standing there waiting for them to be done. Secondly, they look absolutely gorgeous. Don't burn your mouth. No lie, you won't be able to resist. I couldn't and they are hot as hell.

But oh boy, make this and tell me how much you love me because you may just think this the coolest thing since Mac n cheese. Just all grown up and beautiful.

Alternative ideas:

The kids in my house love lasagna so as a lure, I thought I might reproduce this recipe using no-cook instant lasagne noodles. I mean, how much easier could that get? Instead of rolling them up and using the pasta sheets or wonton wrappers, go super-freak easy and use lasagna sheets to make a "white" lasagna. I'm doing it this weekend, so I'll know whether my teenage-friendly, insta-mom dinner menu is a success or fail. Either way, I know it will not go to waste. And while not any pickier than other teens, they just like what they like and so I'll make both red and white lasagna for Italian Fest night, which they love anyway. I have great success sneaking in new things when I create the "package" approach. Tutti a tavola a mangiare, as Lydia would say!! lol!

Update: turns out this is one of THE family favorites. It is a regular request, along with our Italian bread and garlic butter. This is their grown up mac n cheese comfort food favorite.