italian ham

Blend your storecupboard pulses with cumin, turmeric and garlic to create this robust soup with crispy pancetta topping

Lentil & Bacon Soup

olive oil

onion,diced

pancetta cubes

carrot(about 120 grams), finely diced

tsp cumin

turmeric

garlic cloves,finely chopped

chilli,sliced

stock cubes

red lentils,rinsed

Lentil & bacon soup

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, 1 pack of pancetta and the carrot. Cook on a low to medium heat for 10 minutes until the onions are soft.

Add the cumin, turmeric, garlic and chilli and cook for a further 1 – 2 minutes until the aromas are released.

Pour in 1.25 litres of boiling water, crumble in the stock cubes and add the lentils. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 mins, stirring occasionally to ensure the lentils aren’t sticking.

Meanwhile, fry the remaining lardons in a small frying pan for about 10 minutes until crispy. You don’t need to add any oil as plenty will run from the pancetta.

Serve the soup with a sprinkle of crispy lardons on top.

This homemade pancetta is unsmoked bacon or pork belly that&#39;s cured with salt, sugar, pepper, juniper berries, bay leaves, nutmeg, and thyme. It&#39;s an ingredient in many Italian pasta dishes such as carbonara and as a substitute for guanciale in all’Amatriciana and can be hard to find.

Homemade Pancetta

pork

garlic

pink curing salt (known

salt

dark brown sugar

black pepper (divided)

juniper berries (crushed with the bottom of a small saute pan)

bay leaves

nutmeg

thyme

Trim

Trim the pork belly so that its edges are neat and square.

Combine

Combine the garlic, pink salt, kosher salt, dark brown sugar, juniper berries, bay leaves, nutmeg, thyme, and half the black pepper in a bowl and mix thoroughly so that the pink salt is evenly distributed.

Rub the mixture all over the pork belly to give it a uniform coating over the entire surface.

Chill

Place the belly in a 2-gallon resealable plastic bag or in a covered nonreactive container just large enough to hold it. Refrigerate for 7 days. Without removing the pork belly from the bag, rub the pork belly to redistribute the seasonings and flip it over every other day—a process called overhauling.

Test

After 7 days, check the pork belly for firmness. If it feels firm at its thickest point, it's cured. If it still feels squishy, refrigerate it with the cure for 1 to 2 more days.

Remove the pork belly from the bag or container, rinse it thoroughly under cold water, and pat it dry. Sprinkle the meat side with the remaining black pepper.

Roll

Starting from a long side, roll up the pork belly tightly, as you would a thick towel, and tie it very tightly with butcher&#39;s string at 1- to 2-inch intervals. It&#39;s important that there are no air pockets inside the roll. In other words, it can&#39;t be too tightly rolled. Alternately, the pancetta can be left flat, wrapped in cheesecloth, and hung to dry for 5 to 7 days.

Using the string to suspend it, hang the rolled pancetta in a cool, humid place to dry for 2 weeks. The ideal conditions are 50°F to 60°F (8°C to 15°C) with 60 percent humidity, but a cool, humid basement works fine, as will most any place that&#39;s out of the sun. (I often hang mine in our kitchen next to the hanging pans on either side of the stove.) ☞TESTER TIP: Humidity is important: If your pancetta begins to get hard, it&#39;s drying out and should be wrapped and refrigerated. The pancetta should be firm but pliable, not hard. Lort of like an almost ripe avocado. Because pancetta isn&#39;t meant to be eaten raw, the drying isn&#39;t as critical a stage as it is for items such as prosciutto or dry-cured sausages. But drying pancetta enhances its texture, intensifies its flavor, and helps it to last longer.

Store

After drying, the pancetta can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for 3 weeks or more, or frozen for up to 4 months. Freezing makes it easier to slice thin.

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Lentil & Bacon Soup

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Top 2 italian ham recipes from across the web

The most viewed italian ham recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Lentil & Bacon Soup

Homemade Pancetta

The most viewed italian ham recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine