Southern
Ham Salad

Name: Southern ham salad
Yield: 2
Cuisine: American, American South
Ingredients: ½ cup whole-egg mayonnaise; 3 green onions, very finely chopped; 1 tablespoon very finely chopped flat-leaf parsley; 2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard; ½ teaspoon salt flakes, crushed; Good pinch ground cayenne pepper, more or less to taste; Several grinds black pepper; 200g smoked leg ham, chopped; Crackers and/or celery heart, for serving

The South is famous for smoked ham. It’s fried for breakfast, sliced for sandwiches and popular in this party favourite. It’s called a salad, but is really more of a dip or spread, perfect for serving alongside its retro cousins, pimento cheese dip (see video below) and devilled eggs, for an impressive start to a big family gathering like Thanksgiving. Southern ham salad is a great way to use up leftover Christmas ham and you can turn it into a salad by piling it on top of a bed of mixed green leaves. Try it with a glass of Electric Marsanne from Dirty Black Denim in Heathcote, Victoria. Leftovers keep for 4–5 days refrigerated.

Makes about 1½ cups

Ingredients

½ cup whole-egg mayonnaise
3 green onions, very finely chopped
1 tablespoon very finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
½ teaspoon salt flakes, crushed
Good pinch ground cayenne pepper, more or less to taste
Several grinds black pepper
200g smoked leg ham, chopped
Crackers and/or celery heart, for serving

Method

Place mayonnaise, green onion, parsley, mustard, cayenne and pepper in a bowl and mix well.
Stir through the ham, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serve Southern ham salad with crackers and/or stalks of tender celery heart.