The Ardennes region has been famous for it’s game, it’s forests and it’s ham for as long as man can remember. There was a time when the ham was produced only from a specific regional breed of pig, the Celts, that  had adapted to their surroundings and lived entirely of what the region had to offer. They had long legs, were robust undemanding animals and the meat produced from them must have been very lean and with a distinctive flavour, unknown to us today. However, the farmers decided to cross-bread their Celts with domesticated pigs so that the ham would have more fat and thus more flavour.

The original inhabitants of the Ardennes used a wet curing  method and the meat was marinated for days in herbs, vinegar and salt before it was hung up in their chimneys for months on end so that it could be cold smoked. After a suitable period, these hams would be hung up in drafty attics for about 18 months. The Jambon d’Ardennes carries and official quality mark that specifies that it is a ham on the bone – as opposed to the Cobourg ham that isn’t on the bone. However, nowadays the ham is made by an entirely different process.   The ham is cured in brine for 12 to 21 days and then it’s stored in a cold store or air-conditioned room. Depending on the smoke chamber and the amount of smoking required in can take anything from a day to a week to cold smoke it, sometimes with beech chips, sometimes with juniper twigs and sometimes with thyme. All the pigs are raised completely naturally, eat only organically and are fed very well.  The hams are matured to taste and the number of months depends on the manufacturer. It really is criminal to do anything other than slice this ham thinly and enjoy with bread, good wine and possibly some cheese but here’s a recipe that we loved, perfect for the weekend.

ARDENNES QUICHE

Ingredients

• 300g thickly sliced Ardennes ham
• 100 g wild mushrooms  - porcini are particularly suited to this recipe, cleaned and sliced
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• 4 large eggs
• 200 ml cream
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 50 g butter
• ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 250 g  pre-made shortcrust pastry

Method

• Pre-heat oven to 200 C
• Press the short-crust pastry into a buttered quiche dish with a removable bottom, brushing  the base of the pastry with egg yolk and using a fork to prick small holes into it.
• Bake for 10 minutes.
• Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat and add the spring onions and the mushrooms, stir frying until translucent and then set aside.
• Break the eggs into a bowl, add the cream and whisk briskly until the mixture has an even consistency and is slightly frothy, seasoning to taste.
• Place the mushrooms and spring onions onto the prebaked pastry base and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.
• Cut the ham into strips, add it to the base of the pan and pour over the  cream and egg quiche mixture
• Bake for about half an hour until set and serve either warm or cold.