Sam Marsden finds some delicious things that can be done with a slice of ham and the humble cabbage.
In the supermarket chiller cabinet, adjacent to the sliced boiled ham, roast beef, etc, you will these days also find packs of Parma ham from Italy and Serrano ham from Spain – both so thinly sliced that they are almost transparent. Fine for a sandwich, perhaps, bulked out with some cheese and maybe a tomato, but absolutely no use for what follows, so… First, you will need a proper delicatessen, with an electric meat slicer, where you can buy all sorts of cold meats, cut to order. This month, you will need one slice of cured ham cut on number 3 or 4. I prefer Serrano ham, as a typical slice will be about six inches long by some four inches wide – just sufficient for a fun, autumnal cabbage dish.
Cavolo con prosciutto e funghi
Take a smallish, firm cabbage and shred quite thinly. Fill your sink with cold water, and add the shredded cabbage to wash it and to get it thoroughly wet!
Cut your cured ham into matchstick-sized pieces, discarding the delicious white fat or not, according to taste. Next, wash and then slice half a dozen or so chestnut mushrooms. Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan, add the ham and then the mushrooms, and fry gently for a few minutes, with a little chopped garlic if you wish. Move the hot pan near the sink, add the very wet, undrained cabbage and return to the heat. Salt and black pepper can be added as you mingle the ingredients together. As soon as the water in the bott- om of the pan reaches simmering point, turn the heat right down, add a close-fitt-ing lid and allow the cabbage to steam for about half an hour. Occasionally, check the water is not about to evaporate entirely – add a splash from the kettle if necessary.
When the cabbage is cooked, it will be slicked in the ham and mushroom flavour-ed olive oil and ready to serve as a vegetable. If it’s a feast day, stir in a generous portion of double cream (still over a low heat), and your vegetable will be transformed into the most luxurious cabbage imaginable. It is excellent with sausages.
Stuffed cabbage in the Trôo style
Returning to the affinity of cabbage and sausages, I am reminded that the late Jane Grigson once told the story of visiting a neighbour near her holiday home (more of a cave, really) in the central French département of Loir-et-Cher. Mme Glon was cooking her take on a stuffed cabbage, notable by the fact that it wasn’t stuffed.
She had taken a washed, shredded cabbage and boiled it fiercely in well-salted water for five minutes. She had drained it into a colander and then run the cold tap over it to stop it cooking. When cool, she divided it roughly into three. Then she took half a dozen very fine pork sausages which she skinned and divided into two heaps of sausage meat. She added one third of the cabbage to a well-buttered casserole, spread one heap of sausage meat on top of the cabbage, and seasoned well. Another layer of cabbage followed, the rest of the sausage, and more seasoning. Finally, a top layer of cabbage, generously dotted with butter and more seasoning.
If you are going to follow her lead, next cover the casserole very tightly (think foil and lid) and cook in the oven for two and a half hours at gas mark 2, 150° fan. Serve with nothing more than a wine from the centre of France – and possibly some crusty French bread.
Pollo alla salvia
The last time I went to the deli for some ham for the first recipe, all that was available was Parma ham, which meant that I had a slice about twice as large as I needed. So I cut it in half and put the unused piece back in the fridge, where it sat happily for a couple of days, before brightening up a simple dish of chicken. I prefer thighs, but other parts are available.
Heat sufficient unsalted butter to fry the chicken in a frying pan, along with about double the quantity of olive oil. Brown them all over. Meanwhile, slice your ham into matchsticks again, and chop a generous handful of fresh sage. Remove the chicken to a dish, and pour off any excess fat. Pour yourself a generous glass of white wine, add it to the pan and let it boil for a couple of minutes. Add the ham and sage and season generously, then return the chicken to the pan. Set to a gentle simmer, cover and cook very slowly until the chicken is safely cooked – this will depend on the size of the pieces, obviously, so stay alert.
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