Hamming It Up

The other night, when My Beloved was delayed on business up in the mountains, he called to say he wouldn't be home for dinner after all. I was bummed; I had planned on grilling a tri-tip on the Weber, both as a celebration of his homecoming and as a celebration of all this unseasonably sunny weather that we've been having. No fun grilling for one and the tri-tip could wait, so I searched in the fridge for something easy and quick.

If you're a regular reader here, you know I love Brussels sprouts and My Beloved does not. So, when I saw a big bag of the little green cabbages and a container of pre-chopped pancetta, I knew I could please myself and My Beloved by eating them up. I was in business.

I trimmed and halved the sprouts while the pancetta browned in a wide frying pan, then tossed the sprouts in to mingle with all that hammy goodness. I wanted them to be tender but only just, retaining their bright greens and yellows. They were browning fast, so I added just a sip of water and a cover for a few minutes to soften them a bit more.

The ham added quite a bit of salt, which really worked with the sprouts. The texture of the sprouts was just right and the bibbits of ham added their richness. Pouring them out onto a plate, I dined in solitude, but I dined well.