:: Leftover Love ::

Holiday Ham Pâté

:: Megann’s Kitchen ::

:: leftover love from holiday ham dip ::

It just isn’t Christmas holidays without this recipe: My mother’s festive Leftover Ham Pâté spread. As a small child, she always sold it to me as a simple "dip" instead of pâté... & I loved it! Every Christmas throughout the years my mother would purchase a traditional Kentucky Ham & glaze it with all the love of her homeland, Southern USA. There is one thing that matches the beautiful succulent salty sweetness of her ham, & that is the lovely creaminess of her leftover dip.

The first time I made it for Mick he was beside himself & ate the whole bowl in one sitting! This was followed the next night with requests for more, I couldn’t believe it! A simple dish that I grew up with & made from leftovers was creating such joy on the tastebuds for my future husband. Now, even though it is just the 3 of us in our small family, we still get a full 8kg leg ham as we know it will get eaten in many ways, & ham dip is a must.

I have to admit, I have tweaked it just a little since my first frantic phone call to my mother for the recipe (sorry mum) but for me this easy dish is full of memories & happiness.

Ham Dip

250g sliced leg ham

1/3 cup light sour cream

1/3 cup whole egg mayonnaise

1/3 cup finely grated parmesan

1½  Tbs chives, roughly chopped
1 Tbs seeded mustard (optional)

A pinch of sea salt & cracked black pepper

Garnish

finely chopped chives

pink peppercorns

:: ingredients in KitchenAid ::

:: beautifully blended ::

Place ham, sour cream, mayonnaise, parmesan & chives into a food processor (I use my ever trusty KitchenAid) & blend for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture is creamy & smooth. Then fold through seeded mustard (optional). Place into a serving dish & garnish.

:: garnish with pink peppercorns & chives for a festive touch ::

Serve

:: I like to simply serve my Holiday Ham Dip with either water crackers or a crisp bread.

:: I have also made it with the ham dip served in small pastry cups, with a sprinkling of chives & peppercorns on each individual one. They are perfect for a New Year’s Eve canapé. 

:: share with friends with a platter to take to their house ::

Kitchen Notes

:: This is a dish that I also love to share with my friends, as it is something that many haven’t had. Simply create a platter, tie a festive ribbon around it & voila... present.

:: My beloved KitchenAid Food Processor didn’t always exist in my kitchen. Prior to this I made Holiday Ham Dip in a blender! It took some shaking, stirring & a little water added to help the mixture to move, but it did the job.

:: perfect holiday ham dip ::

I would also love to see your Megann's Kitchen Creations/photos of recipes that you have made on Megann’s Kitchen Facebook!