Recipes with ham

Ham is the star product of Spanish gastronomy and is unique due to its characteristic aroma and taste.

A multitude of dishes can be elaborated using cured ham. The following recipes constitute a representative sample:

• Iberian ham with tomato sauce [see recipe]
• Peas sautéed with Guijuelo ham [see recipe]
• Eggs stuffed with Iberian ham [see recipe]
• Crêpes of Iberian ham [see recipe]
• Soup of Iberian ham [see recipe]
• Croquettes of Iberian ham [see recipe]

Iberian ham with tomato sauce

Ingredients: 10 slices of Iberian ham, 6 tomatoes, 1 glass of milk, 1 onion, and nutmeg.

Preparation: Place the cured ham in a dish with the milk for 30 minutes, and prepare also lightly fried tomato and onion.
Then drain the cured ham and spread it well over the frying pan. Pour the fried food onto the ham and sprinkle with a little nutmeg.

Peas sautéed with Guijuelo ham

Ingredients: ½ kilo of raw peas, 1 spring onion, lettuce, Iberian ham, 1 egg, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and olive oil.

Preparation: Place a little olive oil in a frying pan and add the spring onion and lettuce, cut up finely, and a little salt. When this is hot, add the peas, lower the heat to the minimum, cover the frying pan, and leave to sauté for 10 minutes.
Cover the mouth of a medium-sized glass with transparent film, leaving a small gap. Spread with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and put in the egg. Wrap it in the film, heat for five minutes and put aside. Pass some very fine strips of ham through very hot oil, and dry and serve.

Eggs stuffed with Iberian ham

Ingredients: 8 eggs, béchamel sauce, 300 grams of Iberian ham, water, and salt.

Preparation: Boil the eggs in water with salt for a quarter of an hour (so that they do not open during the boiling, drop of vinegar can be added to the water). Then remove the shells, split the eggs in two and take out the yolks. In their place, add slices of ham, salami sausage, or spicy sausage.
When all the halves have been filled, cover them with béchamel sauce and then with breadcrumbs and egg; fry and serve very hot.

Crêpes of Iberian ham

Ingredients: 125 grams of flour, 25 grams of butter, 2 eggs, half a litre of oil, 300 grams of sliced cured ham, and milk.

Preparation: Mix the flour well with the eggs and then add the milk little by little. Repeat the process once more and then let the mixture settle for a few minutes. Grease the frying pan with a little butter, and then put on the heat for a few moments, adding two spoonfuls of the mixture that has already been prepared until the mass covers the whole of the bottom of the frying pan. Stir the frying pan as you go. When the mixture is golden brown, turn it over.
Place the crêpes on a platter and fill them with the ham slices. Roll them up and serve.

Soup of Iberian ham

Ingredients: 250 grams of chickpeas, a piece of salty bacon, 200 grams of lean veal, 200 grams of chicken, 1 ham bone, 1 white bone, a piece of salty spare rib, 2 pieces of celery, 2 leeks, 2 carrots, rice, Iberian ham, 1 hard-boiled egg.

Preparation: Heat up a fair amount of water in a big saucepan, up to some two inches from the edge, and add the chickpeas that have been put in to soak the night before.
Simmer and put in the meat and bones, bringing the mixture to the boil. Put in the celery, leeks, and whole peeled carrots. Simmer for about two hours until the chickpeas are soft.

Withdraw the broth to serve the soup, adding finely cut Iberian ham, a little rice, some chickpeas from the pot, and some hard crusts of bread.

Croquettes of Iberian ham

Ingredients: ham cut up small or ground to taste, 2 cups of milk, half a cup of flour, 7 spoonfuls of butter, 2 eggs, 1 tablespoonful of parsley cut up small, 2 cups of breadcrumbs, 1 onion ground or cut up small, a pinch of pepper, and 4 cups of oil for frying to taste.

Preparation: Fry the onion and the flour lightly in the butter at very low heat until it is well mixed in, taking care not to overheat. Add the milk and the parsley and stir well. Add the ham, pepper, and salt to taste and mix in well. Continue stirring until the mixture is sufficiently thick not to stick to the bottom.
Beat the eggs and put aside.
Let the mixture cool and shape it into croquettes. Pass it through the beaten egg and then through the breadcrumbs. Fry in hot oil and serve.