Iberico Bellota Ham with Orange and Mango

Iberico Bellota ham is arguably the worlds finest cured ham. Some may argue that using premium bellota jamon in recipes is failing to appreciate its exquisite nutty flavours and aromas and should only be enjoyed on its own for a complete gourmet experience...

We'll let you decide on that one but there are some recipes where iberico ham can result in a dish that makes for a rather distinguished breakfast, an iberian side dish or simply just tapas of the highest class.

Keep accompanying flavours simple with Iberico ham and your half way home, nothing too overpowering - let the ham do the work and you can end up with some real flavour enhanced by the very best from the Iberian peninsular.

We have discussed on this blog that Spanish ham goes very well with fruit, most fruits in fact, a classic combination would be sliced jamon with grapes, apple and manchego cheese although kiwi, peach and nectarine work equally well. For a real explosion of flavour try oranges... A couple of years ago during a tour of a local olive oil producer they let us taste test the oil - over orange, it may not seem an obvious pairing but it does work very well, with this in mind try a simple salad of Iberian bellota ham with thinly sliced fresh orange and the best gourmet extra virgin olive oil you can get your hands on (something slightly peppery is best)

Makes 4 - 5 Tapas

100g Iberico bellota ham (hand sliced)
1 Orange
1/2 Ripe mango
Extra virgin olive oil

1. Cut the peel from the orange and remove as much pith as possible using a sharp knife.

2. Slice the orange thinly and arrange around the outside of a tapas dish.

3. Peel and cube the mango, lay in the bottom of the dish.

4. Arrange your Iberian ham slices over the fruit.

5. Drizzle generously with good extra virgin.


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