No Pink Slime! French Style Ham Purée

Jambon purée for baby, croque-monsieurs for the parents: two staples of French home cooking

There are many different sort of hams in France, but when people talk about ham without being specific, they usually refer to "jambon de Paris", also called "jambon blanc", which means white ham. And yes, it is pink. Called French style ham in the US, jambon blanc is a boiled or cooked ham that has a delicate flavor, very different from the smoky, strong flavors of other cured meat. A lean protein, it does not contain as much salt as other kind of ham, and its texture falls easily apart in the mouth, making it ideal to give to baby. In France, people start giving jambon to babies around 6 month of age, as a purée at first, than as finger food when baby becomes able to pick up food by himself.

In France, jambon is used in various recipes, including the classic hot sandwich called croque-monsieur. When I was a little kid, it was one of my favorite, not only because it is delicious, but also because it is so easy to prepare that my sisters and I would make our own sandwiches, making us feel like little cooks.

FOR BABY

Ingredients

1 big potato

1 thick slice of jambon blanc

1 tablespoon of crème fraîche (in the dairy section of any high-end supermarket)

   or 1 teaspoon of olive oil

In Short

Mix in a food processor a boiled potato, 1 thick slice of French style ham and 1 tablespoon of crème fraîche or a teaspoon of olive oil.

In Detail

Bring some water with no salt to a boil in a pot—jambon does contain some salt, so we definitely don't need extra. 

Rinse, peel, and cut in half the potato. Place it in the pot once the water is boiling, and boil for 30/40 minutes, until it slides off a knife's blade easily. Take out the potato with a skimmer and place it in a food processor. 

Trim off jambon visible fat if there is any, place it into the food processor, with crème fraîche or olive oil and mix. Add a drop of some of the potato cooking water if it is too thick. Serve at room temperature or luke warm.

FOR THE PARENTS

Ingredients For 2 croque-monsieurs

4 slices of your favorite bread

4 thick slices of Jambon blanc

7 oz grated French Gruyere or Swiss cheese 

about 1 tablespoon of butter

Spread butter generously on both sides of each piece of bread. 

Trim off jambon visible fat if there is any. 

Fold 2 slices of ham and place them on a slice of bread. Top with half the cheese, and cover with another slice of bread. Repeat to make the 2nd sandwich.

Place in a toaster until cheese is melted. Serve with a green salad.  

Note: In the traditional croque-monsieur recipe, the sandwiches are actually cooked in a lot of butter in a pan. Nowadays though, I don't know any home cook in France who would do that, but if you order a croque-monsieur in a bistro, you will probably get it done the old-fashion way, with a lot more calories than the in the recipe given here.