Asparagus - Tip from PML

A few weeks ago, I went out to dinner at the Print Media Lounge in Heidelberg & had asparagus. I know, I've been into asparagus a lot recently, and my eagerness is starting to wane - a good thing, I suppose, as there are only 19 more days of fresh local asparagus for this year. Am I counting? Maybe....

What really amazed me about the asparagus at PML was the fantastic flavours in a simple traditional dish. Standard asparagus around here is: asparagus, boiled new potatoes, hollandaise sauce & cooked ham. At PML, I had olive oil & parmesan, and the potatoes were sauted & wrapped in what appeared to be wild garlic. I think. The asapargus itself had a mild citrus flavour, which I thought came from plunging the asparagus in lemon-ice water to stop the cooking.

This weekend, I was lucky enough to talk with one of the most knowledgeble people on staff about the food. He admits that he doesn't know what exactly they do, but that there is a fair bit of science involved. Sugar, salt, everything possible in the water, plunged in no idea in order to stop the cooking.

Armed with my rudimentary knowledge & skills, I opted to steam to asparagus in a salted/sugared water & do the lemon-ice plunge after. The results were very satisfactory.

Served with crepes, olive oil, jamon iberico and a bit of manchego cheese the asparagus was pretty good. 19 more days...

Ham

Yesterday was kind of a sucky day. I'm not really sure what it was, but I was on the verge of tears all afternoon. I did what any rational human being with a deadline in 10 days for a project that's not going well would do: I went home early. I used the time well: I went to buy groceries. Balancing everything in my arms, I checked the mail. What's this?

It's from Spain. Why, it's my ham, of course!

A few weeks ago, I entered an omelet contest. Núria from Spanish Recipes held a contest on eggs. I entered my Weekend Fritatta. When I saw this post, I knew I had to enter. I'm a huge fan of the fritatta on the weekend, and I think that Jamon Iberico, the prize, is really what tipped me over the edge to being a foodie.

Let me explain. I convinced a dear friend to visit another dear friend in Barcelona with me. The 2 of them had never met before. I coaxed the one with promises of good sandwiches. The city has so much to offer other than sandwiches, this is just the first thing I thought of. Well, as it would turn out, we didn't really find mind-blowing sandwiches until we got to the airport. After a huge line in check-in, we ran downstairs to our gate, passing by the Pans & Co. (a chain of sandwich shops) along the way. There was a small bar at the gate, as well as the bus, waiting for us, to take us to the plane. Well, I didn't know when I'd be back in Barcelona, so here goes, I'm willing to risk my return flight for a ham sandwich. I anxiously waited my turn to buy the sandwiches - the bartender must have thought that I really needed to pee! He wrapped them up, I grabbed my bag & we ran to the bus. (The bus then continued to wait for other people, so I ran out & got some coke from the vending machine... if I had only known...)

The sandwiches were amazing & we were both happy. But I somehow knew that it wasn't as convincing as it could have been. So, when Christmas rolled around, I bought the friend an entire leg of ham, complete with a ham holder & a knife. I also planned a Christmas brunch of tapas with a Latin American friend and we made patatas bravas. It was good, we ate, drank, were merry. The ham was the centerpiece on the table for a few months, entertaining all kinds of guests with it's appearance & it's taste. A few months ago, I ordered a new ham. Again, a jamon iberico.

You may have had Spanish ham already. You may be familiar with the term Jamon Serrano. Serrano is OK - I think it's better, more flavourful than Parma ham, but that's just personal preference. Jamon Iberico, on the other hand, is better than Jamon Serrrano. There are a few reasons for this:

1. Jamon Iberico is from a certain kind of pig (an Iberian pig!) and can be identified by it's black foot. It is also called "Pata Negra" - black foot. Jamon Iberico must come from pigs that are 75% Pata Negra
2. There are different grades of jamon iberico but the best quality is the Extra Belotta, which means, extra acorns. The pigs double their body weight in the last few months of their lives as the forage acorns in the forest
3. Because the ham is from pigs that have gotten fat on acorns, the fat is mainly oleic acid, which lowers bad cholesterol & increases good cholesterol
   
4. Jamon Iberico is cured much longer than Jamon Serrano. Serrano is cured for 8-10 months, Jamon Iberico for 12 - 36 months
   

This is what awaited me in the package from Núria:

I love the postcard of Barcelona! Reminded me of being in the park last summer! The postcard had instructions on how to eat the ham (at room temperature) and if I am not going to eat it right away, I should store it in the fridge.

The thing that excited me most about the thinly, professionally sliced ham however, was the sight of the white crystals, highlighted in this photo:

These are thyroxine, small white crystals that you get in aged meats & cheeses. I refer to them as flavour crystals, because, even though they are tasteless, they are indicators of products that have been well aged. They are perfectly safe to eat.

A while ago, I posted about the leg of ham on my kitchen table. I have ham. I do not need more ham. But, I know of many people who are not able to come to my apartment to eat my ham. It is these people who will be eating my package of ham , and I am looking forward to sharing this wonderful product with them. Thanks again, Núria!

Let Me Tell You About My Ham

It all started on the beach of Castelldefels, outside of Barcelona. I was in one of the restaurant/containers on the promenade & I wanted lunch. When in Spain, one does not eat sandwiches. One eats bocadillos - crispy baguette-like rolls with 1 - 2 fillings (ham or cheese). I saw the bocadillos with Serrano ham, as well as Jamon Iberico. I went for the Jamon Iberico, even though I didn't know what it was; "Iberian Ham" - when in Iberia... It was a 9€ sandwich, and completely worth it. Ever since then, I have scoffed at Jamon Serrano, even though it is much easier to find. Jamon Iberico, the more elusive ham, is a different variety of pig, it is feed a different diet, and is aged longer. In the last 6 months, I have bought 2 hams (one shoulder, one rear leg) and my life seems to revolve around it - making sure it doesn't melt in the morning sun, worrying about it while I'm on vacation - I'm into my ham.

Last night, I needed to cook the monster asparagus I bought from the farm. They were giant stalks, at least 1 1/2 " in diameter. I wasn't all that into making a soup or crepes or anything phenomenally out of the world. I just wanted to use the asparagus as long as it was still good. I opted for a variation of a German classic: boiled asparagus, boiled potatoes and cooked ham, all with Hollandaise sauce. Instead of a hollandaise, I used the wild leek pistou I have kicking around, and tossed the potatoes in that. And instead of cooked ham, I used my Jamon Iberico, which has been drying on my kitchen table for the last 3 weeks.

A little bit of lemon juice for the potatoes and the asparagus - Mucho yummy!