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05/02/2000 Archived Entry: "Leftover Easter Ham"

Mrs. G wrote:

“Some wit said the definition of eternity is two people and a ham. I have so much leftover Easter ham on my hands it’s depressing. I was hoping you might put something clever up on your web-site about leftovers. Don’t want to do any cheesy, eggy casseroly things. Himself has a cardiac condition, and I have a temperamental gall bladder. If you have anything clever and Italian I could do with it, that would be great. I don’t always get to listen to your show, but I check your webs site almost daily.”

I suppose I am a tad late with this answer, but it is possible you still may not have used up all your leftover Easter ham. Anyway, for the record, here are a couple of recipes and an idea.

First, I called the queen of Easter ham, Ann Amendolara Nurse. Her baked ham has become famous because every year for, I think, a decade now, she has been staging a brunch at the James Beard house that is one of the most popular in-house events of the Beard Foundation. It’s a huge buffet that stars her ham. The ham recipe can be found in the Maven’s Diary, March 27, so it seemed natural to ask her what she does with ham leftovers. Besides, she is of Italian decent and I thought she might do something Italian with her leftovers, as Mrs. G requested. Instead, Ann had the same thought I did: split pea soup.

I would add that using her recipe you might also make lentil soup: just substitute a pound of lentils for the pound of dried peas. Or a bean soup: I’d use white beans – navy beans, pea beans, what are called “small white beans,” … really, any kind of bean. If you presoak them, cook them for about an hour. If you start them hard, they’ll probably need about 2 hours. Make sure you cook beans until they are soft. Hard beans are not pleasant to eat and very hard to digest.

I also tossed the leftover ham question out to my Food Talk listeners on Monday and Vincent Prianto, who I call my number one student (he calls in every Monday with a basic cooking question), suggested making macaroni – bow ties would be good, he said – with ham and peas. Saute some onion or shallot in a little butter or oil, add frozen peas, a squeeze of lemon juice and a little chicken broth. Cook the peas until nearly done, about 3 or 4 minutes, then add cubed ham. Simmer until heated through and toss with the pasta and some grated Parmigiano. That sounded delicious to me, which made me think of asparagus and ham, a great, classic springtime combination, too. You could do exactly as Vince suggested, but substitute asparagus cut into 1-inch long pieces – I like mine cut on the bias, not only for the attractive look but because the asparagus cook quicker with more inside exposed. If you can stand a little cream in your life, asparagus with ham and cream makes a wonderful pasta dressing, too. With bias cut asparagus, use penne and cut the asparagus spears to the same size as the pasta. Saute the asparagus in a skillet with a little butter. Add heavy cream and diced ham, then simmer until the cream is reduced slightly and the ham is heated through. Toss on penne with grated Parmigiano and freshly ground pepper.

As I was writing the above, my friend Rozanne Gold called, and so I asked her what she would do with leftover ham. Always ready with the simple answer – we call her the Queen of Simplicity – she said she might just eat it cold for its own sake, with the sweet and sour mustard sauce from her book, Recipes 1,2,3 (the first of her now three-part series of 1,2,3 books, now in paperback). The recipe is below. Maybe serve the ham with asparagus or with a salad of the season’s first bitter baby greens.


Ann Nurse’s Split Pea Soup

1 ham bone with some meat
1 pound green split peas
3 large carrots, diced
2 large onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 ribs celery, with leaves, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Pick the meat off the ham bone and reserve. Use it, diced or cut into strips, to garnish the soup.

In a large pot, combine the ham bone with the remaining ingredients, except the salt and pepper. Cover with water by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil, then adjust heat and simmer, partially covered, for at least an hour, until the peas are falling apart. You may need to add water as the soup cooks, to keep all the ingredients covered by liquid.

Let the soup cool to warm. Remove the ham bone, and, if you can find it, the bay leaf.

Puree about half the soup, using a food processor, blender, or food mill. Return the pureed portion of soup to the pot.

Taste and check for salt and pepper.

Serve hot, garnished with ham cubes or strips.


Rozanne Gold’s Sweet Mustard Sauce

Makes 1/2 cup

3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons distilled white or cider vinegar
1/3 cup Dijon mustard

Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar. Whisk in the mustard. Refrigerate for several hours, where the sauce with thicken.
Variation (what Rozanne calls an “Add-on”: Add 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, or 1/2 teaspoon lightly crushed caraway seeds.