RECIPES:

BAKING A HAM

A whole ham weighs 10-20 pounds so they’re usually sold in sections or halves.

Bake hams at 325F on a rack in a roasting pan with a little water, juice, wine or beer in the bottom of the pan, and baste every 30 minutes.  Since most hams are already fully cooked, you just need to heat them through – it should take about 10-15 minutes per pound. Use an instant read thermometer and pull the ham when the internal temperature reaches 155F. Increase the oven temperature to 425F, then spoon or brush the ham with a glaze, and bake 20-30 minutes longer, basting with glaze every 10 minutes.

GLAZES FOR HAM

Simmer the glaze ingredients together for a few minutes. When the ham is almost cooked, remove the skin, then spoon or brush the glaze thickly over the cooked ham before returning to the oven for 20-30 minutes at 450F. Brush every 10 minutes with additional glaze.

½ cup apricot jam

¼ cup Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons orange or lime juice

OR

½ cup marmalade

¼ cup Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons orange or lime juice

OR

½ cup Guinness stout

¼ cup honey

¼ cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

HAM AND WHITE BEAN, SPLIT PEA OR LENTIL SOUP

This is a versatile soup recipe that utilizes the leftover ham bone. Feel free to add more vegetables – a cup of frozen green peas or shredded cabbage is a nice addition at the end – or use some fresh chopped herbs like parsley. I like to add some leftover cooked rice or barley to this soup for added texture, too.

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chopped onion

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

½ cup each, chopped celery and carrot

1 medium potato, peeled and chopped or shredded

4 cups chicken stock

1 cup white wine

2 cups water

1 meaty ham bone or chunk of ham

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

pinch of cayenne

2 cups small white beans, soaked overnight (or use 2 cups of split peas or brown lentils, no soaking necessary)

1 tomato seeded and chopped

½ cup cooked rice or barley (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

In a deep stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onion, garlic, celery and carrot until tender and starting to colour.

Add the potato, chicken stock, wine, water and ham bone. Stir in the thyme, bay leaf, cayenne and soaked beans or lentils.

Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour. Remove the ham bone. Remove any cooked ham from the bone, chop and stir back into the soup along with the tomatoes. Adjust seasoning and add cooked rice, frozen peas, finely slivered cabbage or fresh herbs, if desired. You can crush some of the potatoes against the side of the pot, to help thicken the mixture, or partially puree the soup with a hand blender to make it smoother, if desired. Serves 6-8.

©Cinda Chavich

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