Easter Ham Dressed in Chile

In the United States ham is traditionally associated with Easter dinner. Scandinavians and Eastern Europeans brought the custom here. But in different parts of the world, other foods are linked to this religious holiday. In Naples they savor pastiera, a cake made from ricotta cheese. In the province of Salamanca, a meat pie called hornazo, made from pork loin, chorizo and hard boiled eggs is served. The Finns and Swedish prefer mammi or memma, a type of baked malt porridge. And in the Southwest, select ham dishes seasoned with red or green chile is the natural thing to do!  This year I plan to glaze mine with peach jam spirited with habanero powder and sweetened with aromatic cinnamon and cloves. For a lighter meal, consider grilled kabobs or a salad – diced ham tossed with a smorgasbord of fruits drizzled with a distinctive chile honey dressing. ¡Pascua feliz!

Habanero-Peach Glazed Ham

•  1 (5-7 pound) smoked fully cooked ham half
• Whole cloves
• 1 (10 ounce) jar peach preserves
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground habanero powder
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Remove skin from ham; score fat on ham in a diamond design, and stud with whole cloves.

Combine preserves, lemon juice, cinnamon, habanero powder, and cloves in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Set aside. Place ham, fat side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Insert meat thermometer, making sure it does not touch fat or bone. Bake, uncovered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until thermometer reads 140 degrees F (18 to 24 minutes per pound); baste every 15 to 20 minutes with the sauce. Serves 8 to 10 with leftovers.

Hot and Sassy Ham Steak with Mustard Sauce
(Adapted from Minutemeals 3 Ways to Dinner Copyright 2002)

• 1 fully-cooked (16 ounce) ham
• ½ cup peach or apricot preserves
• ½ cup Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar I used red wine vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon (favorite) hot pepper sauce

Preheat the broiler. Line a broiler pan with aluminum foil. Trim the ham steak, cut it into 4 pieces, and pat them dry with paper towels. Place the pieces on the broiler pan rack.

In a small bowl, stir together the apricot preserves, mustard, vinegar and cayenne. Brush one quarter of the sauce over the ham pieces. Broil 4 to 6 inches from the heat for 4 minutes. Turn the pieces and brush with some of the sauce. Broil for 4 minutes, until the ham is heated, browned and glazed. Serve the remaining sauce in a small bowl with the ham.

Raisin-Apricot Glazed Ham

• 8 pound fully cooked whole boneless ham
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 18-oz jar apricot preserves
• 1/4 teaspoon habanero powder or cayenne pepper or to taste
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 (2-oz) package slivered almonds

For glaze, in a small bowl stir together well preserves, almonds, raisins, habanero powder, and lemon juice.

Place ham in a shallow roasting pan. Bake in a 325 degree F oven for 2 hours (allow 15 minutes per pound) or until thermometer registers 140 degrees F. Spoon glaze over ham once or twice during the last 30 minutes of cooking time. Slice thinly to serve. (From bigoven.com)

Hearty Ham and Pineapple Kebobs

• ¼ cup orange marmalade preserves

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or New Mexico red chile powder (medium hot)

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 (8-10 ounce) ham steak cut into 1 inch pieces

• 1 (16 ounce) can pineapple chunks

Preheat grill to medium high.

Whisk preserves, oil, mustard, cayenne pepper, and lemon juice in small bowl to blend
 Alternate ham pieces and pineapple chunks on skewers
 Brush with glaze and sprinkle with pepper. 
Grill until ham is slightly charred, turning often, brushing with additional glaze.

Snappy Ham and Serrano Salad

• 2 cups mayonnaise
• 1 cup sweet pickle relish
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 pounds smoked boneless ham, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 small green bell pepper, diced
• 1 yellow serrano pepper, stemmed, seeded and minced
• 2 stalks celery, diced

In a large bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, relish, pepper and salt until blended.

Add the ham, onion, green pepper, serrano and celery and toss until coated.

Store the salad, covered, in the refrigerator.

Bowtie Peppered Pasta Salad

• 8 ounces dried bowtie-shaped pasta
• 6 ounces cooked smoked ham, chopped
• 1 small yellow serrano, stemmed, seeded and diced
• 3/4 cup semi-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cucumber, halved lengthways, chopped
• 2 sticks celery, sliced

Dressing

• 1/3 cup whole-egg mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons light sour cream
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon brown mustard

Combine all ingredients, and salt and pepper in a screw-top jar. Shake well to combine.

Cook pasta in a saucepan of boiling salted water, following packet directions, until just tender. Drain well. Transfer to a large bowl.

Add ham, serrano, tomatoes, cucumber, celery and dressing to pasta. Toss to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Smorgasbord Fruit Toss

• 1 can (20 oz.) pineapple chunks

• 1 can (11 or 15 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained

• 1 large banana, sliced

• 1 kiwifruit, peeled, halved and sliced

• 1 cup quartered strawberries

• 1/4 teaspoon grated lime peel (optional)

• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

• 1 tablespoon green chile honey
• 4 ounces cooked ham steak cut into cubes
• 1 (4 ounce) package sliced almonds

Drain pineapple; reserve 1/4 cup juice. 
 Combine pineapple chunks, mandarin oranges, banana, kiwi fruit and strawberries in large serving bowl. 
 Stir together reserved pineapple juice, lime peel, lime juice and honey in small bowl. Pour over salad; toss to coat. Sprinkle with almonds.

Sunny Conley is an award-winning author, writer, editor and desktop publisher, specializing in Southwest cuisine, culture and business. Since 1994, Sunny’s columns and features have appeared in national and regional magazines and newspapers, and on the Internet. For more information, visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/sunnyconley or write sunnyc@evliving.com.

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