Parma ham is so versatile and deserves more than being served on a wooden board alongside a fancy olive with a stalk. It’s so much more, and here maninlondon heads to the Saturday Kitchen TV studios to whip up a three-course meal with the jewel in the Italian culinary crown.
Man in London cooking up a storm on the set of Saturday Kitchen
Parma ham is prosciutto from Emilia Romagna defined by European law as the region of Parma and is regarded as perhaps the only true prosciutto.
Of course with melon, it’s the Abigail of party canapés, but be experimental. One of my own tasty show pieces is a Parma ham-wrapped fig, stuffed with gorgonzola and baked gently in the oven until the cheese melts. It’s mouth-poppingly gorgeous.
For a very simple canapé place a ripe, thin-sliced pear on a slice of parma ham and roll it up for crunch and style. Or for the budding master chefs, on a square piece of crisped bread you can build up a tower with ham, cheese, walnuts and a fruity chutney – all great flavours to have with a glass of Prosecco or white wine. It’s a must at every ‘gathering’ I have.
canapés with a flourish
Using Parma ham in ‘proper’ cooking is so easy too. Butternut squash risotto is one of the tastiest dishes and most comforting winter dishes you can make. It’s all about the quality of ingredients and the timing. 18 minutes to be precise, well it is according to chef Gennaro Contaldo. We were tutored at the Cactus Kitchen in Clapham by his colleague Bridget Colvin, Home Economist, Product Development and Recipe Writer and Home Economist Hollie Simpson.
There’s a bit of prep in gently baking the slices of Parma ham to crisp them up – perfect to give some texture and concentrated flavour to this dish. Also have some baked butternut squash to hand.
You can also really ramp up the flavour with a dollop of home-made pesto of basil leaves, virgin olive oil, toasted pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, garlic and seasoning (some add a touch of Pecorino instead of the salt) – mixed up in a blender.
Getting creative with Parma Ham
For the risotto you’ll need the usual ingredients, the rice, butter, a little olive oil, shallots, dry white wine, chicken stock (not from a cube, it’s far too salty) and a strong wrist for the waving, not stirring, motion of coddling the rice in the pan.
Melt the butter and sweat the shallots before adding the rice to coat it. When you hear it crackling pour in a dash of dry white wine and you’ll hear the risotto sigh, along with the chef – if you give them a drop too. Remember, the wine you cook with should be good enough to be the one you drink.
Start the clock at this point – remember 18 mins – and then ladle in the hot stock over this time. Towards the end stir in some mashed squash and watch the pot glow with colour. When it’s still al dente serve and dress with a few cubes of squash, the bright green pesto and that crispy ham I was telling you about – The Parma Ham Crown.
et voila the finished dish
All those flavours, soft textures and then that fantastic crunch that just melts into the mouth. It’s so satisfying.
Parma ham for dessert? yes!
I promised you a three-course meal, so for dessert, how about this edible boat of biscuit, cherries, Chantilly cream and candied Parma ham arranged as sails with a cherry and balsamic glaze.
Sweet but not too sweet, and it’ll have your guests talking nothing but the versatility of the king of hams – Parma!
See how easy it is to actually #cookwithParmaham!
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