R E C I P E S
Jambon à la Crème (Ham with Chablis and Cream)
Burgundy’s jambon à la crème and jambon au Chablis are closely allied to its saupiquet. Each consists of slices of ham, fried (originally in lard) and then cooked gently in wine. There are no firm boundaries between these dishes: à la crème contains more cream, au Chablis relies more on wine, and saupiquet calls for vinegar. (This saupiquet has diverged almost entirely from the one of southern France for roasted rabbit, which typically contains garlic, anchovies, capers, parsley, the rabbit’s liver, and only sometimes vinegar.) In the Burgundian countryside, the ham was cut from a fully cured whole leg smoked in the chimney, and it required soaking to get rid of some salt. I prefer lightly cured unsmoked ham, the kind called demi-sel in France (to make your own, see A Brine for Small Items), cooked beforehand (poached as a whole piece and then sliced); or you can use already cooked ham. Jambon à la crème and related dishes are a good way to use leftover ham that isn’t too smoky. Frying the ham, though typical, makes it tough and doesn’t add much because the slices aren’t afterward simmered, so the brown flavors don’t enter the sauce. Below we assume full-strength wine vinegar of about 7 percent acidity (most North American vinegar is diluted well below that); the bit of tomato, though not always used, has a buffering effect on it. We’ve suppressed the classic thickening with flour (a couple of spoonfuls cooked in the fat after frying) in favor of adding stock and thickening by reduction. And we’ve added tarragon. This makes it a more refined, less homey dish, yet also quicker, since the old dish required the sauce to be cooked slowly for a long time to get rid of the raw-flour taste, and the ham was sometimes included in that long cooking so it would add its flavor. Optionally, serve lightly sautéed mushrooms alongside the ham and sauce. A good premier cru Chablis has the right degree of richness.By Edward Behr and James MacGuire
2 pounds (1 kilo) lightly cured ham, either a whole raw piece or cooked ham in 1/4-inch (6-mm) slices
1 cup (250 ml) Chablis or other dry white Burgundy
1¾ cup (400 ml) chicken stock
¼ cup (50 ml) red- or white-wine vinegar
2 or 3 shallots, chopped, enough to make about ½ cup (75 gr)
3 or 4 branches fresh tarragon
3 or 4 juniper berries, crushed
½ cup (125 ml) puréed tomatoes, either good ripe fresh ones or ripe‑tasting canned
2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
salt and black pepper
If the ham is raw, poach it in water in a single piece and keep it warm and ready in the poaching liquid while you prepare the sauce. If the ham is already cooked and sliced, moisten the slices with a bit of broth or stock and heat, covered, very gently at a low temperature in the oven or on top of the stove in a pan protected with a heat diffuser.
In a nonreactive pot, boil together the wine, stock, vinegar, shallots, tarragon, and juniper berries until the volume is reduced by three-fourths or more. Add the tomato purée and boil 1 minute. Add the cream and boil again to reduce the sauce until it just coats the back of a wooden spoon, like the familiar dessert sauce crème anglaise (pourable custard). Strain, taste, and season with salt and pepper. Return the sauce to the pot, and bring it momentarily to a boil; if it’s too thick, thin it with a splash of water. Slice the ham, if it isn’t already sliced, arrange it on a hot platter, and cover with the sauce. Serves 4.