If you have ham leftover from an Easter meal two appealing ways to use it up in the next day to two is in a sandwich or soup.
For eons, in many parts of North America, one of the most popular ways to incorporate ham into a sandwich is to chop and cook it with eggs, onions and green peppers and stuff the resulting omelette between toasted bread. I’m, of course, talking about a Western sandwich, also called a Denver sandwich.
There are a few stories as to who first created this sandwich. But the one I’ve seen most frequently suggests it was first made by 19th century, immigrant Chinese camp cooks who prepared meals for folks who, for example, worked building railways or on ranches.
According to the book, American Food: The Gastronomic Story by Evan Jones, in pioneer days when, for example, a hungry cowboy asked for a sandwich between meals, the story goes that Chinese cooks prepared eggs foo yung using the meat and vegetables at hand, in this case the green pepper that was grown by early Spanish in the West, along with onions and some chopped ham. Put between slices of bread, this quick and easy sandwich was well received and eventually became a staple menu item in diners in the United Sates and Canada.
These days, in some of those eateries serving Western sandwiches you’ll be given the option to also have cheese on it, what I did in my recipe. To make it, you fry chopped ham, onions and green bell peppers in butter a few minutes, and then add a beaten egg mixture. You cook the eggs until almost set, top it with grated cheddar cheese and fold the omelette in half. You then let the cheese melt a short while, before cutting the omelette, widthwise, in half. Each half omelette is stuffed between toasted bread, creating two tasty sandwiches.
My soup recipe incorporating ham is one I simmered up a few years ago called “throw-it-all-in-the-pot” pea soup. As the name suggests, everything needed for the soup is put into the pot at the same time. You then bring the soup to a simmer, and simmer it until the dried peas used in it are tender and the soup has thickened. It makes a generous amount of soup that freezes well.
Western Sandwiches
Hearty sandwiches filled with egg, ham, onions and green bell peppers to serve for breakfast, lunch or even dinner.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: six to seven minutes
Makes: two servings
4 large eggs
2 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp thinly sliced green onions
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 slices white or whole wheat bread
2 tsp butter
1/3 cup chopped ham
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup grated aged cheddar cheese, or to taste
• soft butter or mayonnaise, to taste, for spreading
Place eggs in a bowl and beat until well blended. Now beat in the milk, green onions, salt and pepper. Set the bread slices in your toaster but don’t toast them yet.
Melt butter in an eight- or nine-inch, non-stick skillet set over medium heat. Add the ham, onions and peppers and cook until vegetables soften, three to four minutes. Pour eggs into the skillet. Also start toasting the bread slices.
As the eggs begin to set at the edges, use a heatproof spatula to gently push the cooked portions towards the centre of the pan. When the surface of the eggs is almost set but still looks moist, top one half of one side of the omelette with the cheese. Fold the omelette in half, cook 30 seconds more, and then remove from the heat.
Spread butter or mayonnaise one side of each toasted bread slice. Cut the omelette in half, widthwise, and then sandwich each piece between two slices of the toasted bread.
Cut each sandwich in half and serve.
Throw-it-all-in-the-pot Pea Soup
Make a meal of this hearty soup by serving it with thick slices of buttered, crusty bread. Or, if you’re really hungry, serve the soup with a Western sandwich.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: About 60 minutes
Makes: about 10 cups
1 1/2 cups green or yellow split peas (see Note)
9 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 1/3 cups ham, cut into small cubes, or to taste
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 green onions, thinly sliced (optional)
Rinse the peas well in cold water and then drain well. Place the peas in a soup pot with the stock, ham, celery, onion, carrot, sage, thyme, marjoram and cayenne. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat (small bubbles should just break in the surface). Now lower the heat to maintain that gentle simmer.
Simmer the soup 50 to 60 minutes, or until peas are very tender and the soup has thickened. Thin the soup with a little more stock or water if it has reduced too much and become overly thickened.
Taste the soup, season with salt and pepper and it’s ready. If desired, sprinkle servings with sliced green onion.
Note: A split pea is a skinned, dried pea divided into two. Because they’re split, liquid can more easily penetrate them, why they don’t need to be soaked in water before cooking like other pulses, such as dried beans.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
