Рецепт Velvet Corn Soup; Country v City Ham; Weekly Menu
I often call for Prosciutto in my recipes; not a lot, just a bit to add flavor. It's the case of a little going a long way.
But, I never, or rarely, use actual Prosciutto.
I use Bayonne or Vendéen or Serrano, or any number of other dry-cured hams that are available here.
In my mind it denotes the type of ham and it's up to the cook to decide which they prefer or what's available in their market.
As I was standing at the meat counter yesterday, buying my Bayonne ham for this dish (and others during the week), I counted the hams.
There were over 35 different dry-cured hams ranging in price from 12 euros to over 50 euros per kilo or
roughly 9 dollars to over 38 dollars per pound. My little supermarket only carries the really expensive stuff, like Jamón Jubago de Ibérico, at Christmas.
There were also 15 different wet-cured hams, the kind most Americans think of when one says 'ham'.
FYI: dry-cured ham is also known as country ham, both in the US and here; wet-cured ham is known as city ham in the US and 'Paris' ham here in France (jambon de Paris). I don't recall seeing the equivalent in Spain.....
Happy Year of the Tiger!
Soups are usually included with a Chinese meal, though not as a first
course. Traditional meals do not have courses unless they are
banquets. We modify it to suit our own customs
This is based on a recipe from '1000 Chinese Recipes'.
- Velvet Corn Soup
- 1 cup (8oz, 240gr) corn
- 2 egg whites
- 4 tbs milk
- 2 1/2 cups (20oz, 625gr) chicken stock
- 1 tbs cornstarch (corn flour, maizena) dissolved in 2 tbs water
- 1 slice Prosciutto, sautéed
- 1 tsp olive oil
Drain corn and rinse lightly. Heat chicken stock, 2 tbs milk and corn. Roughly chop the Prosciutto. Heat oil in skillet, add Prosciutto and sauté until crisp. Remove and set aside.
Separate eggs, discarding the yolk. With a whisk beat the egg whites until very frothy. Then beat in the 2 tbs of milk, set aside. Dissolve the cornstarch in the chicken stock.
To finish: When the stock/corn is boiling stir in the cornstarch mixture and stir until the soup has thickened and cleared. Remove from heat. Pour in the egg whites and stir gently a few times. Ladle into bowls, divide the Prosciutto and sprinkle on each serving. Serve immediately.
Note: The easiest way to separate eggs is to crack it and dump it in your clean hand. Let the white run through your fingers into the bowl and discard the yolk. Or you can, carefully, transfer the yolk from eggshell half to eggshell half - this keeps your fingers clean. I don't do this because our eggshells have not been washed like they (usually) are in the U.S. I know my fingers are clean. I have no use planned for the egg yolks. You can refrigerate them and use them in omelets, freeze them and save them for baking, (see techniques) or discard them.
In
addition
to
this,
for
the weekly menu for February 12 we have Sweet and Sour Pork, Stir-Fried Shrimp, Chicken with Mascarpone and Shallots, Apple Tarts, Ham, Broccoli and Potato Gratin...
and get the menu, complete recipes with meal preparation instruction,
and shopping list each Thursday. First two weeks FREE. (Reverse
seasons available for Australia, and others in the Southern Hemisphere).
For more recipes visit my internet cook book: Easy Gourmet Dinners.