French Ham with Lavender
How do you dress up ham? If you’re Filipino, there’d be pineapple slices and cherries on top, but if you’re French, you use lavender. I went all over Manhattan to find fresh lavender sprigs and finally found them at a Whole Foods store in Chelsea. I’m not French, of course, but who says I can’t snazz up my ham like they do?
Ingredients:
1 fresh ham, 3 to 4 pounds
1/2 cup garlic, cut into slivers
4 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary
4 sprigs lavender
1 medium can of diced tomatoes
1 cup lavender honey
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp fennel seed
salt and pepper1. Preheat oven at 325º. Score the ham crosswise and place in an oven-safe roaster pot of boiling salted water. Simmer for 3 minutes and remove to a platter.
2. Insert half of the garlic into the ham using a knife. Place ham back in pot of water and add the rest of the garlic, all the herbs and the tomatoes. Bring to a boil.
3. Bake in oven for 3 hours, basting occasionally. Cover with aluminum foil if ham browns too quickly. Remove ham from pot when cooked.
4. Reduce remaining liquid over medium fire. Stir in honey, zest and juice of lemon and fennel seeds. Use as glaze for ham.
Related post/s:
Where to get lavender honey