WHAT’S COOKING: Black and blue pasta (pappardelle with Black Forest ham and blue cheese)

Slivers of Black Forest ham, lots of Italian blue-veined cheese, and the cutest little mushrooms you ever saw. But that was only the idea of it, after I’d taken a wander around the shop looking for inspiration for that evening’s supper. It’s the palate that ultimately decides whether a recipe works, not the eyes.

There’s ham and there’s ham, right? I’m standing in front of the cold meats fridge at my local Checkers. There’s cooked ham, continental ham. Smoked hickory, chargrilled, and gypsy ham. Jamón Serrano and prosciutto crudo. And Black Forest ham.

Wikipedia tells us, helpfully, that “Black Forest ham (German: Schwarzwälder Schinken) is a variety of dry-cured smoked ham produced in the Black Forest, part of the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany.

“In 1959, Peter Adler from Bonndorf im Schwarzwald pioneered manufacturing and selling Original Black Forest ham by retail and mail order. Since 1997, the term Black Forest ham has been a Protected Geographical Indication in the European Union, which means that any product sold in the EU as Black Forest ham must be traditionally and at least partially manufactured (prepared, processed or produced) within the Black Forest region in Germany. However, this designation is not recognised outside the EU, particularly in Canada and the United States, where commercially produced hams of various types and quality are marketed and sold as Black Forest ham.”

This kind of control over who can call something by what name brings out the rebel in me. It embodies a pinnacle of arrogance best ignored or at least scoffed at. Like the GI now applied to Karoo lamb – its BS. (If the lamb grew up on Karoo veld eating the available leaves, its meat is Karoo lamb. That is the only appellation you need. The meat doesn’t need a sticker to prove itself. So sommer ask the farmer, and there you are.)

But Black Forest ham is so deeply flavourful that I didn’t mind paying more for it than the gypsy or continental ham would have cost me. I suppose it’s that “heavily cold-smoked” dry-curing that gives it its divine flavour. It sure does add a lot of oomph to a pasta sauce.

But I wanted more. Not ham – baby portabellini mushrooms, as it turned out. They just looked so damned cute, I had to have them. And I decided they needed to be cooked whole, so we could see them on our plate even after being tossed with pappardelle. Which I also spotted and was reminded how much I like these broad pasta ribbons, like fettuccine that’s been fattened up.

Next, I headed for the cheese fridges. There are three in my local store, but that doesn’t mean the range is exhaustive – I’m holding out for Pont-l’Évêque, the stinkiest of cheeses and also my favourite. Don’t fear it – it’s divine on the palate. Come on Checkers, bring me my Pont-l’Évêque.

Instead, I bought some Gorgonzola, but you can use another blue-veined cheese in this sauce.

As ever, I couldn’t resist the temptation to eat a quarter of the Gorgonzola right out of its wrapping when I opened it, but the rest went into the pasta sauce, promise.

Other than that, there’s onion and garlic in this pasta sauce, along with a glass of wine and some crème fraîche to take the blue cheese further, if you like, and I finished the dish with peas. Nothing wrong with frozen peas by the way – they only need two minutes in the sauce before tossing it with the cooked pasta, refreshing the sauce with pasta water, and dinner is served.

Tony’s black and blue pasta

(Serves 2-4)

Ingredients

250g pappardelle pasta

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

150g baby portabellini mushrooms, whole

200ml dry white wine

100g Black Forest ham, diced

100g Gorgonzola, or other blue cheese

150ml crème fraîche

A handful of frozen peas

2 ladles of pasta water

Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Dice the ham and chop/break up the blue cheese unless it’s soft enough to just dissolve into the sauce (which it might well be).

Put a pot of lots of cold water on a high heat and salt it lightly. When it boils, add the pasta, stir immediately to prevent the pasta strands from clumping, and let it boil on a moderately high heat until al dente. Once it’s al dente, before draining it, reserve 2 ladles of pasta water. (Try to time the pasta to be ready at the same time as the sauce.) Drain the pasta in a colander over the sink.

Pour a little olive oil into a heavy pot on a medium heat and add the onions. Simmer until they’re soft, just three minutes or so. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the mushrooms, turn the heat to moderately high, and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms release their juices. Continue cooking until the liquid is reduced by half.

Add a glass of chenin blanc (or whatever wine you’re enjoying while you cook) and reduce by half again.

Add the Black Forest ham and stir in the Gorgonzola and crème fraîche.

Add the frozen peas and heat the sauce through, then simmer gently for 2 or 3 minutes.

Stir in the reserved pasta water, then toss the cooked pasta through with a pasta fork, and serve immediately. DM

To buy a copy of Tony Jackman’s Retro Karoo Food (Penguin Random House) signed by the author in gold, send an email to him at tony@dailymaverick.co.za Or buy it through the Daily Maverick shop*.*

Tony Jackman is twice winner of the Galliova Food Writer of the Year award.

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.