I bought a lovely ham for Christmas.
I may have slightly over-estimated my requirements, however as it was, well, enormous…..
Especially for 2 people.
I cut in in half: 1 for the oven and 1 for the freezer.
We had ‘second Christmas dinner’ the other day.
Yeah, I did the whole bit (not the foie gras), including the mustard sauce and sweet potatoes. It was just as good in March as it was in December.
And, again, we had enough ham for 3 meals.
This time I made my favorite risotto: Ham and White Bean.
I did make one small change, though…. I added the leftover sweet potato. The sweet potatoes here are always huge.
We were pleased with the change – and it added a bit of color.
That’s my favorite thing about risotto – any leftovers are great!
Ham and White Bean Risotto
Total time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup (4.2oz, 125gr) Arborio rice (or other rice specifically for risotto – Carnaroli or Vialone Nano)
- 1/2 cup (4oz, 120ml) dry, white wine
- 2 1/4 cups (18oz, 540ml) chicken stock
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 1 tbs sage, crumbled
- 1 tbs butter
- 3/4 cup (2oz, 60gr) Parmesan cheese – freshly grated
- Condimenti:
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 8oz (240gr) ham, cut into small pieces
- 15oz (450gr) white beans, (cannellini), rinsed, drained
- 6oz (180gr) cooked sweet potato, cut into small chunks, optional
- 1 tbs olive oil
Instructions:
- Heat chicken stock and keep hot over low heat.
- In medium sauce pan heat butter; add the 1/2 onion and sauté until transparent.
- Add rice and sauté, stirring, for 2 – 3 minutes until rice has white center.
- Add white wine, sage and stir.
- Start condimenti.
- When wine is almost absorbed add a 1/3 cup of stock, stir. (No need to stir constantly but do stir from time to time.) When stock is almost absorbed add another 1/3 cup and continue adding 1/3 cup at a time and stirring.
- Before you add the last 1/3 cup taste a few kernels of rice. They should be just ‘al dente’ – slightly resistant to the tooth but fully cooked. If more stock is needed add it 1 tbs at a time and waiting until almost completely absorbed.
- At this point risotto will be thick but not stiff – there will still be visible liquid and it will not hold it’s shape on a plate.
- Add the Parmesan and the condimenti, stir well, spoon into a bowl or risotto platter and serve immediately. It will continue to absorb liquid and the leftovers (if any) will be quite stiff.
- Condimenti:
- While risotto is cooking, heat oil in small skillet.
- Add the 1/2 onion and sauté until tender.
- Add to ham, white beans, sweet potato and heat through.
- Cover and keep warm until needed.
I don’t know about the rest of the world but I have been noticing an increasing discrepancy between the expected delivery of items that I order online and the actual delivery.
Even when I’m given an exact date the delivery is almost always a few days….. earlier.
Apparently they have taken their cue from airlines that manage to have their ‘on-time’ arrivals perfect by setting them much later than expected.
Our pool was supposed to be delivered the last week in March.
It arrived yesterday.
Isn’t it gorgeous?
The delivery driver was not at all happy with us.
I was asked, of course, if the truck would be able to get to our house to deliver it.
I said of course…. I mean, we did have delivery vans here when we moved in and we regularly have the big truck come for fuel delivery.
I may have neglected to explain that those trucks have to navigate one direction in reverse but, hey, this is the middle of nowhere France…. That should be expected!
She called from the beginning of our lane and I told her to come on down.
She did.
It was a big truck.
It’s been raining every day for months.
There was no place to turn around safely, without the risk of getting seriously stuck.
It was a really big, heavy truck.
She left.
In reverse…. backing all the way up the hill, to the main road.
She was gone a really long time.
I started to think she had just said ‘ to hell with this’ and gone on about her day.
She came back, in reverse, all the way down the hill, from the main road.
She almost didn’t fit through our gate – and did manage to do a little tree-trimming for us.
Did I mention that she wasn’t very happy?
Really, we’re not that far from the main road…. maybe a half kilometer or so.
We didn’t ask her to put it in the barn…..
While I don’t have a driveway quite that long, it’s a good two acres to our garage from the road and we have the same problem. The UPS and FedEx regular trucks can turn around on the cement pad in front of the garage, but anything larger generally stops at the road, walks up the hill, asks me what to do and I tell them it’s best if they back in. Most are okay. Some aren’t happy.
Right now though, the driveway is still ice covered and one needs a running start to make it up to the garage.
I’m not expecting any deliveries. I hope.
On the rare occasion that we get a half inch of snow we are ‘snowed in’ with our little hill as we have no running start. When it’s dry even the big trucks can just drive onto our field and turn around….Now they would just sink.
Same problem here – we are next to the last house on a one-lane Alley. Delivery vans larger than a USPS truck must back in one direction. The drivers are either cheerful and friendly or we never see them again!
I really am amazed at the capabilities of these drivers. Our road is narrow and either side is a ditch deep enough to cause serious problems.
If home delivery of any item existed here then there would be a major discrepancy on all fronts…its not even up for debate
Can you pick stuff up at the post office? Or is that even too risky for Marrakesh? ‘-)
Early delivery? Never happens here, no way.
Risotto is a leftover dish, anyway it seems that way in my kitchen.
Love the color from the sweet potato.
Risotto is always a leftover dish – except when I want asparagus risotto – once each spring I’m allowed lol Normally he wants it lightly steamed with nothing but butter. He’s a purist
I. Want. That. Ham. And. White. Bean. Risotto. It looks fabulous!
We were most pleased.