Spanish Varillas, or "Rods"- Tapas Night Part 2 of 3

As soon as I saw this recipe over on Kayotic Kitchen, I knew that it would make an awesome addition to my Tapas Date Night menu!

These little Spanish “rods” (as they are so lovingly called- “varillas”), are not only incredibly tasty, but truly unique! Have you ever seen anything like them? I know I haven’t!

I switched up the recipe a bit. I used prosciutto di parma in place of serrano ham (jamón serrano) because Whole Foods didn’t carry the latter. I would have really preferred the serrano though to keep with my Spanish theme. In case you aren’t familiar, the difference between the two is that serrano ham has much less fat, and it is a bit drier.

I also used a goat’s milk cream cheese as opposed to cow’s milk. I was originally going to just substitute the cream cheese for goat cheese (which I still think would be great), but as soon as I saw the goat’s milk cream cheese I was sold.

For my greens I chose baby arugula for the nice spicy bite it lends, but any green would do here- play around!

I thought these turned out incredible! They were super easy to make, but packed a ton of flavor. The tangy creaminess of the goat’s milk cream cheese paired with the salty, chewy prosciutto and crisp bread stick is a combination so divine that I had to have 2! While that may not seem like a lot, these guys are over a foot long each!

• prosciutto di parma (or serrano ham), sliced very thin
• crispy bread sticks (you could get flavored ones if you want but I just stuck with the traditional)
• goat’s milk cream cheese (I found this at Whole Foods)
• chives, diced
• sun-dried tomatoes (I only used one), minced
• pinch of fresh ground pepper
• pinch of sea salt
• baby arugula