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Not Running => Food => Topic started by: caribougrrl on March 04, 2013, 09:58:27 AM

Title: ham and lentils
Post by: caribougrrl on March 04, 2013, 09:58:27 AM

I don't make ham very often, because it's difficult to come by good ham around here.  But the place where I buy local goat and lamb had some local, locally cured, bone-in smoked shoulder available recently.  So I did a ham.

I will confess that I don't use my own recipe.  I roughly follow this ginger beer and tangerine braised, honey-mustard glazed recipe:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/864635/ginger-beer-and-tangerine-glazed-ham (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/864635/ginger-beer-and-tangerine-glazed-ham)
(yesterday it was cara cara rather than tangerine, with additional slice fresh ginger in the pot)

anyway, when I was deciding what to serve with it, I notice this "goes well with" suggestion on the site for puy lentils braised in the pot liquor from the ham and thought, well, what the heck, why not give it a try:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/864644/chilli-and-tangerine-braised-lentils (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/864644/chilli-and-tangerine-braised-lentils)
I substituted sweet red pepper for the carrot, shallots for the onion, and didn't bother with the creme fraiche or the additional orange juice/rind.

did I mention I make a good ham?  well, listen to this, the lentils were the best part of the meal, hands down.




I think you could do a pretty good vegetarian version with part veg stock and part ginger beer, orange zest, grated ginger and a bit of liquid smoke in lieu of the ham cooking liquid.

Title: Re: ham and lentils
Post by: diablita on March 04, 2013, 10:31:26 AM

the lentils sound tasty; I love lentils.  Glad your meal turned out so well.

And I always forget that cara cara is a citrus fruit as well.  For a moment I was confused.

(http://cdn.itsnature.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/crested-caracara-layers-tx-279t0047.jpg)

Title: Re: ham and lentils
Post by: caribougrrl on March 04, 2013, 10:37:07 AM

:)

the only reason I was moved to buy cara cara oranges was because of a fantastic Nat'l Geo documentary on the striated caracaras of the Falkland Islands I saw years ago.


some of the footage (the best part starts at 17 seconds, when the birds are destroying the flim crew's camp):
Flying Devils (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7qcNiJTfVU#)

Title: Re: ham and lentils
Post by: diablita on March 04, 2013, 10:56:30 AM

that's seriously fabulous!