Baked Pasta with Eggs, Ham and Cheese

This is my take on traditional Schinkenfleckerln that is so popular in Bohemia (Czech Republic) and Austria. In original Schinkenfleckerln, pasta being used are short and flat flakes, sort of like broken wide noodles, or Fleckern. I used spaghettini instead because I had leftovers from my Salmon and Pasta dish that I cooked previous day. Also, instead of traditional baking pan or casserole I used large 8oz. non-stick muffin pan. The reason for this change was that it gave me 4 times more surface area that had a nice crunch, the best part of this meal, as far as I am concerned. My brother and I were always fighting for the corner portions because they were the crunchiest, we have shunned the middle, soft parts.

Another very easy meal to make, especially if you have leftover pasta on hand.

Ingredients

4 shallots or 1/2 medium onion
4 cups cooked pasta, room temperature
4 eggs
1 cup chopped ham
1/2 cup grated cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 °F and place rack on middle shelf.
Sauté the shallots in little bit of butter until soft, about 5 minutes and let cool.
Chop the cooked pasta into 1/2 inch pieces.
In a mixing bowl beat the eggs until whites and yolks are well combined, add pinch of salt and pepper, cooked shallots, ham, cheese and pasta and mix so that all the pasta pieces are well coated with eggs and all ingredients are well combined. Pour into buttered muffin cups or casserole, cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake in oven for 30 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and bake additional 15 minutes or until top is golden brown. Remove pasta from pan by turning it over on a baking sheet and serve with pickles or/and lettuce. It can be served as a light lunch at room temperature.

Sauerkraut, Root Vegetables and Ham Soup

Depending on quantity of ham and vegetables, this soup can be complete meal. I personally prefer 2 to 1 ratio of stock to solids. I will not give quantity of each ingredient since everybody has a different preferences or availability. I am using my own home cured sauerkraut. Recipe is here. There is vast difference between homemade and store bought sauerkraut. Commercial kraut just doesn’t have enough crunch; they tend to be mushy.

Ingredients (all chopped)

Shallots or onion

Garlic

Carrots

Parsnip

Celeriac
Potatoes
Sauerkraut, divided into 2 equal portions
Cabbage (optional if using store bought sauerkraut)
Ham
Chicken stock
Caraway seeds
Pepper
Butter
Olive oil

Directions

If you are using store bought kraut, wash under cold running water and drain.
Sauté shallots and garlic in little bit of butter and olive oil until soft. Add all the vegetables, 1 part of sauerkraut, ham and stock and bring to boil. Season with caraway seeds and pepper and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove cover, add remaining sauerkraut and simmer additional 15 minutes. Serve hot with dollop of sour cream on top.

Gratin of Cauliflower, Potatoes and Ham

This is simple, quick and filling weeknight meal. You can make it as rich or as lean as you want just by adjusting amount of cheese.

 Ingredients
2 baking potatoes, peeled
1/2 head of cauliflower
2 half inch slices of ham
Grated cheese

 Directions
Cut potatoes into 1” cubes and boil in lightly salted water until done, about 15 – 20 minutes. Cut up the cauliflower and ham and drop into pot with potatoes 10 minutes after potatoes start to boil.
When potatoes and cauliflower is cooked, drain and mix with cheese. Divide evenly in between ovenproof dishes that were buttered, top with extra cheese and broil until cheese starts to bubble. Serve with salad on side.

Just top with cheese and broil.

Big Breakfast at Night

I have posted similar “All Day Breakfast” before but it is so good that it is worth to post another version.
As I noted before, this meal is a snap to make in restaurant or diner environment with their big steel hot plate and deep fryer always at ready but at home it involves quite a juggle act and few utensils. However, this time I cut it down to just one small sauce pot for canned maple syrup beans even though they could have been heated up in microwave oven and one large (12” flat bottom) non-stick frying pan that comfortably cooked 3 pineapple rings cut in half, 2 thick slices of smoked ham, 3 large cremini mushrooms cut in half and 3 eggs (scrambled). Frozen and seasoned potato quarters were crisped up in toaster oven. From start, including all the prep, to plating in under 30 minutes, a lot faster than my previous version and a definite repeat. That big frying pan was a huge asset and so was the fact that ham, pineapple and mushrooms could be cooked on same heat and at the same time and that the eggs were scrambled just at very end in the same pan. Of course, I had to move the ham, pineapple and mushrooms to one side.

Root Vegetable Soup with Ham

This soup is truly a full meal, especially if you use a lot of ham as I did. As is usual with any dish done from scratch the mise en place is a bit tedious because of all the chopping but after that it is a breeze.

Ingredients:

5 cups ham stock

1 Tbs. olive oil

1/3 cup each of chopped onions, carrots, parsnip, green beans

2 Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 cup chopped ham

1 cup cooked barley

1 clove garlic, crushed and chopped

1/3 cup Acini de Pepe or other small shape pasta

1 Tbs. chopped parsley

1/ 2 tsp dried basil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbs. chopped parsley for garnish

Direction:

Heat olive oil in heavy bottom pan and add onions and garlic, sauté till translucent. Add rest of vegetables except tomatoes and barley and sauté briefly.

Add hot stock, pasta and bring to boil, lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add ham, barley, tomatoes and parsley and simmer additional 5 minutes.

Check if pasta is cooked and serve garnished with chopped parsley and few drops of olive oil.

Ham, Sauerkraut and Potato Dumplings

Chlupaté Knedlí s Uzenou Šunkou

This is a true comfort food and once you have made dumplings it is a cinch to put together. Just cook ham any way you prefer, boil, bake or braise, cook sauerkraut and serve with potato dumplings.

I bought shank end of bone-in smoked ham that came in at 4.5kg or 10lb, put it in large cast iron Dutch oven and poured in water about half way up the meat. It took 3-1/2 hours at 350°F to braise, covered, for a fall-off-the-bone done. Nice no-work method. Not only did I end up with great, tender ham, but now I have 2-1/2 quarts of fantastic ham stock for pea soup as well. Nice bonus. One thing I will change next time is that I will not cut the skin in diamond pattern, I will leave the skin whole. Since I like the nice chewy texture of the pork skin but not all that fat underneath, it will make the job of removing extra fat much easier.

Even though this meal looks fairly light, is quite filling. It will become a Winter standard.

Open Sandwiches - Chlebíčky

( Obložené Chlebíčky, Czech)

No matter how you pronounce Obložené Chlebíčky aloud in front of person that was raised in Czech Republic or Slovakia, you will notice instant reaction: they will start to salivate like Pavlov’s dog, the eyes will start to get glassy and breathing will get faster in anticipation of incredible feast. Just like potato salad, which is used on some sandwiches as a base spread, it is an absolute must for Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Easter and at majority of Name Day celebrations. And, just like the potato salad, it is very tedious to prepare due to all the cutting and slicing. That, of course, is on top of making different base spreads for these jewels. Once you have the spreads prepared and gherkins, eggs and pimentos are sliced in traditional cuts, then it is just a question of assembly. Yeah, right, simple assembly...not! These sandwiches are nothing like what you see here in Canada or US. Here, the bread is covered with same flat ingredients end to end. On Czech version, every slice of meat or cheese is shaped into cones, bow ties, rolls...Because of that, every bite has different taste and texture. For example on my hot salami and cheese version in one bite you might have spicy and soft Hungarian salami and crunchy gherkin and other bite will have harder Swiss cheese and slice of pickled egg with mustard. Every family, restaurant and caterer has their own combinations.

Let’s start with spreads. Of course, you could use just a plain butter but why to take shortcuts when you want to prepare something incredible, ne se pas?

#1) Spread for fish based sandwiches (smoked salmon, gravlax, sprats, crab meat...)

1/3 cup cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup sour cream (real sour cream, not light imitation)

1/4 cup salted butter, room temperature

1 Tbs. dried dill weed or 1-1/2 Tbs. chopped fresh dill

Place everything in a bowl and mix with fork till smooth.

#2) Spread for meat based sandwiches:

(Ham, salami, pastrami, Montreal smoked meat, etc.)

Same as above but replace dill with 1 Tbs. Dijon mustard.

#3 Spread for almost any combination of toppings:

1 cup potato salad

2 tsp finally chopped parsley

Chop to spread like consistency

Toppings:

Shaved or thinly sliced ham, thinly sliced Hungarian or any hard salami, thinly sliced pastrami and/or Montreal meat, thinly sliced Swiss and Edam cheese, small chunks of Brie, Camembert, Gorgonzola or any blue cheese, gravlax, smoked salmon, sprats, smoked sardines, crab meat, lobster meat, smoked oysters, etc.

Garnish:

Sliced hard boiled or pickled egg, lengthwise sliced gherkins or baby kosher pickles, julienne pimento or roasted red pepper, lemon zest (for fish), parsley, sliced radish or cocktail tomato, chopped capers (salmon),

Here are some popular combinations:

Spread #3, Ham, Swiss cheese, slice of egg with pimento on top, parsley, sliced gherkin.

Spread #2, Hard salami with pickle slice, egg slice on top of soft cheese.

Spread #1, Egg slice, 1 or 2 Sprats, lemon zest, pimento.

Spread #1, Salmon, capers, small piece of lemon, lemon zest.

Spread #3, Swiss cheese, egg slice, pimento, pickle.

Etc, etc, etc….Just use your imagination and use pictures as a guide.

My spread for two people, Christmas 2009. Second plate is just out of picture on top right.

Professional presentation by caterer.

One bite of any of these sandwiches will have you hooked!

Note: For bread I always use baguette sliced about 3/8" thick on diagonal across for more real estate for toppings, but no bigger then what you can eat in two bites. Again, it is a personal choice.

Baked Pasta with Ham and Eggs

This is my favorite dish to bring for potluck gatherings and I am sure that once you try it, it will be yours as well. It is delicious, simple, inexpensive and takes less then 90 minutes from prep to plating. Again, you can make it as spicy or mild as you wish. You can even use cooked chicken or turkey.

For 13” X 9” baking pan:

5 c. cooked pasta, (3 c. dry) Conchigliette, small shells or small elbows

2 c. cooked ham or meat from smoked pork hock (my choice!), shredded

6 eggs, lightly beaten

Salt, pepper and paprika to taste

Preheat oven to 400 °F.

Mix all ingredients till well combined, pour into buttered baking pan, shake and tap it on counter top to even the top and place on middle rack of preheated oven.

Start checking after 30 minutes. Bake till golden brown on top.

Let cool and with spatula cut along pan and then carefully lift from bottom. Place on cutting board and cut into serving pieces: small squares/rectangles for potluck or as appetizer and larger pieces for starter or light lunch. It can be served hot or room temperature. If you intend to serve it for a hot lunch, after 30 minutes remove from oven and sprinkle grated cheese of your choice on top, put back in oven and melt till cheese bubbles. Serve with pickles or Cornichons.