Grilled Mozzarella and Prosciutto Balls

These are inspired by a recipe by South African chef Reuben Riffel (his "Buffalo Bomb" from his cookbook Braai). Yum! They're very easy to make and are a nice, salty, and creamy side. Feel free to use store bought pesto. I just made a teeny portion of pesto by chopping up some basil, garlic, almonds, and pecorino and mixing in some olive oil. You could also get smaller mozzarella balls and make these hors d'oeuvres size, too. 

Snap Pea Pesto

I could have sworn my friend Kara told me about snap pea pesto and I'd been dying to try it since last summer and have been anxiously waiting for my snap peas to come out. When I asked her about it, she had no idea. Maybe I dreamed  it? Either way, I tried it out last night. Yum! It's really simple and fresh and summery.

Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
2 cups snap peas (pull off the strings)
4 basil leaves
1/2 large or 1 whole small clove of garlic, mashed into a paste with some kosher salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup-1 cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parm
pasta (I used gemelli)

Pesto Pasta

One of my favorite summer recipes is fresh pesto pasta. Basil from the store is totally acceptable, but nothing beats fresh picked basil. It's so pungent and flavorful. This is my mother's recipe and will always remind me of summer. I tried Garofalo fusilli and it was really nice - fluffier than most. This easy pasta is a great, fast dinner.

Ingredients:
About 2-3 cups fresh basil (several big bunches)
3 garlic gloves, roughly chopped (less if you're not that into garlic)