from Back to Beer…and Hockey
Here’s your inspiration for Easter dinner from “Made in Quebec” cookbook, a quintessential dish that’s braised in maple beer. You can’t get more Canadian than that! Check out our review of that cookbook at https://canadiancookbooks.ca/made-in-quebec-2/
Ingredients
3 tablespoons (45 mL) butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 leek, white part only, finely chopped
1 carrot, diced
2 tablespoons (30 mL) granulated maple sugar
2 pounds (1 kg) smoked ham with bone, pierced with 8 or more cloves
1 tomato, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 bouquet garni (1 bay leaf and sprigs of fresh thyme and flat-leaf parsley tied together or tied in a cheesecloth bag)
2 bottles (12 ounces/341 mL each) maple-flavoured beer
Directions
Preheat oven to 375F (190C).
In a deep, heavy, stovetop-safe casserole dish, melt butter over medium heat and cook onion, leek and carrot just until tender, about 5 minutes. Add maple sugar and continue cooking, stirring often, until mixture is lightly caramelized. Set ham on vegetables and then add tomato, bouquet garni and beer to the casserole dish.
Roast, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325F (160C) and roast for another 45 minutes, basting occasionally.
Remove casserole dish from the oven, place ham on a warmed serving platter, cover loosely with foil and let stand for 10 minutes. Carve ham and serve on warmed serving plates, accompanied by vegetables and beer sauce.
Note: You can use light beer mixed with 2 tablespoons (30 mL) maple syrup.
Serves 6
Nada’s Tips & Tricks: Easter is coming and this is a quick and easy dish to make your star attraction.
Contents and images from Made in Quebec: A Culinary Journey by Julian Armstrong ©2014. Photography by Ryan Szulc. Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. https://www.harpercollins.ca/9781443425315/made-in-quebec/
