My frugal mother spent every Thursday morning sitting in her chair with the quarter-folded paper open to the crossword and the back of an envelope laid on top of it, writing out the plan for the following week’s meals. Her elegant cursive labeled the days Monday through Sunday with a strong underline under each day and under each line, the food we’d eat. Once done, she would post it inside one of the cupboard doors for us to review, anticipate, and salivate.
Her brain remembered everything in the freezer and cupboards. Every scrap needed to be used because, to her, it was a sin to pitch anything, and nothing made her madder than when an errant ingredient was found molded in the back of the fridge. Soup was inevitably where most of it landed. If it were meat, it was ground, seasoned, and spread liberally onto my father’s lunchtime sandwiches. She worked wonders and kept her large family nourished in body and soul from her cleverness and penny-pinching.
When pursuing the coming week’s menu, if I saw that ham was set for our Sunday dinner, I knew we’d see ham sandwiches and more. She’d take the bone and create a huge pot of bean soup, and occasionally, when peas were in season, she’d make peas with ham.
The dish, Peas with Ham, is pure peasant food. Its luscious texture is enhanced by the ham’s salty sweetness and the peas’ umami creaminess. These few simple ingredients are cooked into what I call a quick-braise and together make an excellent light meal. Serve it with a salad, some toast liberally rubbed with a half of garlic, and a small glass of dry sherry.
PEAS WITH HAM (GUISTANTES CON JAMÓN)
INGREDIENTS
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1½ ounces Jamón Serrano. (This should be thinly sliced and cut into lardons—strips. Keep the fat because it adds flavor to the dish.)
1 shallot, peeled and minced
2 - 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 Tablespoon potato starch
1 cup of water
1 pound of fresh or frozen peas
1½ Tablespoons fresh mint, roughly chopped
freshly cracked black pepper
Serve with toast liberally rubbed with garlic and a splash of extra virgin olive oil.
METHOD
In a moderately sized pan, heat the oil over medium heat.
Add half of the Jamón and all of the shallots and cook for a minute or two to release their flavors into the oil.
Stir in the garlic and cook until it just begins to color.
Stir in the potato starch to make a quick roux.
Stir in the water and peas and bring the pot to a simmer.
It will thicken as it cooks. Cook until the peas are tender—about 7 minutes.
Stir in the rest of the Jamón and mint.
Season with pepper.
Taste and adjust seasoning. The Jamón is very salty, so you probably will not need salt.
Garnish the peas with toast and a drizzle of olive oil.
Oh yum. Try it with Guanchale too. Also really delicious.
I cannot tell you how often I have served peas with ham as a side dish or the two added to pasta with a creamy sauce. Of course, it was not Serrano ham, but leftovers of the hunk of ham I bought for a previous dinner. It always gets used in a myriad of ways.
Your version is the delicious and beautiful bougie version :)