Name: Italian Love Nests
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Cuisine: ItalianEurope
Ingredients: 8 ounces angel hair pasta; 1/2 teaspoon table salt, plus extra for boiling; 1 cup heavy cream; 2 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 1/4 cups), divided; 3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped fine; 1/4 cup dry white wine; 2 large eggs; 2 teaspoons minced fresh sage; 1 teaspoon white pepper; 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 1/8 teaspoon hot sauce; 12 green olives stuffed with pimento

Why This Recipe Works

This recipe submission to our America's Best Lost Recipes contest relies on a muffin tin to transform cooked pasta into individual cheesy baked pasta cups studded with prosciutto and sage.

Before You Begin

Spray the muffin cups with vegetable oil spray to keep the nests from sticking.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 12-cup muffin tin. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in Dutch oven. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Drain pasta and return it to pot.

Whisk cream, 3/4 cup Parmesan, prosciutto, wine, eggs, sage, pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, nutmeg, and hot sauce in bowl. Pour over pasta and toss.

Using tongs, portion pasta mixture into prepared muffin cups, twisting pasta to form uniform nests. Pour any remaining sauce evenly over pasta, sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan, and press 1 olive into each nest.

Bake until centers are set and tops are golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating tin halfway through baking. Let nests cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. Run small knife around edges, unmold, and serve warm.