“Hold hard a minute, then!” said the Rat … and after a short interval reappeared staggering under a fat, wicker luncheon-basket.
“Shove that under your feet,” he observed to the Mole, as he passed it down into the boat. …
“What’s inside it?” asked the Mole, wriggling with curiosity.
“There’s cold chicken inside it,” replied the Rat briefly; “cold-tongue-cold-ham-cold-beef-pickeled-gherkins-salad-french-rolls-cress-sandwidges-potted-meat-ginger-beer-lemonade-sodawater-“
“O stop, stop,” cried Mole in ecstasies: “This is too much!”
(“The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Graham)
There is something distinctly Edwardian about potted meats, coming from a time before the privations of the First and Second World Wars, but when pâté was positively exotic and probably not to be trusted. Even my grandmother would have felt it was old-fashioned. But I have to say that, both from the point of view of reducing waste, and just the sheer enjoyment of eating it, we have been missing out!
I am sure this is a theme to which I will return (there being a glut of potential variations) but to begin with I’m turning to the rather sad, dry nugget of leftover ham which is looking a bit unloved at the back of the fridge …
These quantities will generously serve 6 as a starter or a light lunch (with soup or salad). If you’re likely to eat it all in one go then it works brilliantly in a single 600ml china or glass container, preferably taller than wide as you want a butter (or ghee) “plug” on top to keep it fresh. Otherwise divide into smaller containers (not plastic) – I love these colourful 100ml clip top jars from Eddingtons for individual portions.
- 50g butter
- 300g cooked ham (roughly chopped)
- 1 tbsp ground mace
- 2 spring onions (finely chopped)
- 5 cornichons (finely chopped)
- 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 20g ghee (or clarified butter)
- Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan over a moderate heat.
- Meanwhile blitz the roughly chopped ham in a food processor until evenly minced.
- When the butter is hot, stir in the minced ham until the butter is evenly distributed and cook gently for 3-5 mins, stirring occasionally. You do not want it to brown.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients apart from the ghee, and cook for a further minute. Check the seasoning (ham varies greatly in saltiness and may need no additional seasoning at all).
- Press into your chosen container(s) and flatten down the surface.Melt your ghee or clarified butter over a gentle heat and pour over the top.
- Cool, then refrigerate.
Remove from the fridge an hour or so before serving to enable “spreadability”. It keeps for about a week in the fridge and also freezes well (defrost for 24 hrs in the fridge prior to use).
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