Various Garnishes for Braised Ham

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1-quart (1-liter) heavy saucepan for the demi-glace
• •12-inch (30-cm) lidded sauté pan
• •Fine-mesh sieve for bean purée
• •Large warmed oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose the garnish

   Choose one garnish for a generous platter serving four. For a larger holiday table, choose one vegetable and one starch, then prepare half the stated quantity of each. Time the garnish to finish while the braised ham rests; holding nine little saucepans was the brigade's concern, not yours.

   Spinach and broad beans give freshness, lettuce and endive bring soft bitterness, pasta gives substance, and bean purée makes the plate especially rich. Choose the counterpoint your ham needs.
2. 2

   Reduce the Madeira

   Pour the Madeira into a small heavy saucepan and boil it steadily until reduced by half. Add the demi-glace and hold at a lively simmer until the sauce coats the back of a spoon in a thin, glossy layer, about 8 minutes. If it is thin, reduce it before adding butter; if it tightens too far, loosen it with a spoonful of light stock. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the cold butter. If the butter separates, stop heating and whisk in 1 teaspoon of cold water. Ça se rattrape. Taste only now, because both the demi-glace and ham carry salt.

3. 3

   Finish buttered spinach

   Wash the spinach and leave only the water clinging to its leaves. Pack it into a wide pan, cover, and cook over medium heat until collapsed, turning once. Drain thoroughly, press out excess water, and chop it coarsely. Return it to the pan with the butter, salt, and pepper, tossing over medium-high heat until the leaves shine and no liquid collects underneath. If the spinach begins to weep on the platter, return it to the hot pan and cook off the moisture; never bury watery spinach beneath more sauce.

4. 4

   Butter broad beans

   Blanch the new broad beans in salted boiling water until tender, 3 to 5 minutes according to their size, then drain. Slip off the pale outer skins if they are thick; very young beans need no such ceremony. Warm the peeled beans gently with the butter, salt, and pepper, rolling the pan until every bean carries a bright sheen. Keep the heat moderate, because hard frying splits their tender centres.

5. 5

   Braise greens gently

   Halve the lettuces or endives lengthwise and trim the bases without cutting away the core that holds each half together. Melt the butter in a sauté pan and color the cut sides lightly. Add the stock or ham liquor, season cautiously, cover, and braise at the barest simmer until a knife enters the cores easily, about 20 minutes for lettuce or 30 minutes for endive. Lift the greens out, then reduce the cooking liquor to a glaze and spoon it back over them. If the liquid remains thin, reduce it alone; boiling the tender greens harder will only undo your work.

6. 6

   Cook peas paysanne

   Render the lardons in a covered sauté pan until their edges begin to bronze. Add the butter, pearl onions, and shredded lettuce, then cook gently for 3 minutes without coloring the lettuce. Add the peas, stock, sugar, and a little pepper. Cover and simmer until the peas and onions are tender, about 8 minutes for fresh peas. Uncover and toss until the remaining liquid glazes them. If the peas become tender while liquid still pools below, lift them out, reduce the liquid quickly, and fold them back in.

7. 7

   Butter pasta or gnocchi

   Cook egg noodles, spaghetti, or macaroni in well-salted boiling water until tender but still holding its shape. For gnocchi, lift them out shortly after they rise and feel softly resilient at the centre. Reserve a cupful of cooking water, drain thoroughly, and toss with the butter and black pepper. If the pasta clumps while the ham is carved, loosen it with hot cooking water and another small piece of butter, not oil.

8. 8

   Make the bean purée

   Simmer the fresh shelling beans or broad beans in the stock until completely tender, adding a little water if needed. Drain while reserving the liquid, then process the beans with the butter and enough hot cooking liquid to make a thick, flowing purée. Pass it through a fine sieve and season. The sieve is not empty fuss here; if you choose purée, silkiness is the point. If it is loose, cook it gently until a spoon leaves a track; if stiff, beat in more hot stock.

9. 9

   Build the platter

   Set the rested braised ham on a warmed oval platter and carve several slices so the pink interior shows. Arrange the chosen garnish in a generous mound or in tidy braised halves beside it, never as a crowded ring of every option. Spoon the demi-glace au Madère over the exposed ham and let a little pool beside the garnish, serving the remainder from a warm sauceboat. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use a good refrigerated or frozen demi-glace with enough natural gelatin to set softly when cold. A salty powdered gravy has no such body, and reducing it only concentrates the salt.
• •Broad beans and fresh peas earn their place when they are young and sweet. Outside their season, frozen peas and peeled frozen broad beans are the honest classical pantry answer.
• •For the most balanced platter, pair braised lettuce or peas à la paysanne with ham alone. If the meal needs more substance, serve buttered noodles, macaroni, or bean purée and keep the vegetable garnish smaller.
• •Ham and demi-glace both carry salt. Use unsalted stock and butter, then season only after the sauce has reduced.
• •A dry Chenin Blanc suits spinach, peas, or broad beans. With endive, pasta, or purée, pour a light cru Beaujolais and let the Madeira remain in the sauce.

Advance Preparation

• •The demi-glace and reduced Madeira can be combined up to 3 days ahead and chilled. Reheat gently and whisk in the cold butter only before serving.
• •Broad beans may be blanched and peeled a day ahead. Lettuce or endive may be braised several hours ahead and reheated gently in its reduced cooking liquor.
• •Spinach, peas, pasta, and gnocchi are best finished while the ham rests. Their freshness and texture suffer from prolonged holding.
• •The listed timing begins with a fully cooked, hot braised ham. The ham's braising belongs to its own preparation; this entry supplies the classical garnishes and Madeira demi-glace that complete it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 1470g)