Crispy Parma Ham Asparagus Brunch

Name: Crispy Parma Ham Asparagus Brunch
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 8 slices Parma Ham; 1 tsp olive oil; 250 g asparagus spears; 2 eggs; 75 g unsalted butter; 1 egg yolk; 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar; 1/8 lemon ((juiced))

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Sunday Brunch is an institution in our house! Whether it’s a fancy restaurant with friends for a Champagne Brunch or a relaxed brunch at home, we always try to make it a bit special. It’s not just the meal to replace breakfast and lunch, it needs to take the best bits of both to create a spectacular hybrid of an occasion! It also has to be a little bit decadent which is why I came up with this delicious crispy Parma Ham Asparagus Brunch idea in collaboration with Parma Ham UK (which is now going to get re-made every single weekend!). I just love how the saltiness of the ham combines with the sweetness of the asparagus and the buttery richness of the hollandaise and poached egg yolks!

So let’s get onto the recipe. The first thing to do for this recipe is to crisp up some Parma Ham. I love Parma Ham in all its guises but, when you crisp it up, the flavours become even more pronounced. I always choose Parma Ham in my dishes as I know exactly what goes into it and how much care is taken to get the Parma Ham seal of quality. Other hams can have added ingredients which don’t work for the diet I follow, but Parma Ham has no sugars, no nitrates, no hidden preservatives, no added nasties, it really is made with only 4 ingredients – Italian pork, air, salt, and time. The salt is the only preservative used to preserve the pork legs and you can really taste it coming through, even more so when the Parma Ham is cooked as it concentrates all the delicious flavours. All the legs have to be aged for a minimum of a year so it really is a ‘slow-food’ process. I love how the act of preserving the pork legs hasn’t changed for hundreds of years. A surefire ‘If it ain’t broke’ mentality and the quality is always superb! You can taste in each bite, how seriously the Italians take their produce!

Apart from concentrating the flavours, crisping the ham also adds some texture to the final dish. Everything else on the plate is fairly soft so it adds a nice crunch to the whole meal. So to fry the Parma Ham you need to heat a teaspoon of the oil in a frying pan on a high heat. Add strips of the Parma Ham to the frying pan and watch as they sizzle, shrink and crisp up. They will probably take a minute or two to cook on each side. You’ll know they’re done when they’ve turned a darker colour and become brittle enough that you can ‘snap’ them! Then, break or chop the Parma Ham slices into small shards and set aside for later. Top tip: Make more than you need as I defy you not to pick at the crispy Parma Ham while you’re cooking the rest of the dish!

Once you’ve made the Parma Ham crumbles, you can start on the Hollandaise Sauce. You can make this by following my Foolproof Easy Hollandaise recipe. (Halve the recipe, as it makes enough Hollandaise Sauce for 4 people!) It really does work every time as long as you keep the temperature low and take your time over it. Once the hollandaise is ready, set it aside while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Pick up the asparagus spears by the tip and the bottom of them. Bend them until they ‘snap’ and discard the woody end. They tend to snap at the right point to be able to get rid of the part that is fibrous and not nice to eat and you’re left with the tender part to cook. Steam the asparagus for between 3 and 5 minutes. Make sure not to cook it too long. You want the asparagus to be quite al denté or everything on the plate will be too mushy. It needs to have a bit of bite to it as the eggs and hollandaise are so soft.

Meanwhile, poach two eggs – you can use my Easy Poached Eggs method which results in the perfect set white and gooey yolk every time! Now you have all the elements of your dish together, it’s time to plate up. Divide the asparagus spears in two and place half on each plate. Top each pile of asparagus with a poached egg and a generous serving of the Hollandaise sauce. (If it’s gone cold since you made it you can warm it very gently on a low heat). Crumble plenty of the crispy Parma Ham over the top and season well with black pepper.

But, as you can never have enough Parma Ham I like to add some of the raw ham on the side too for a slightly different flavour profile to the crispy ham. It’s sweeter and more delicate than the big bold salty flavour of the cooked ham. And then all that’s left to do is cut into that perfectly gooey yolk and let it ooze out, all over the dish! Decadent and utterly delicious! Every day should start like this!