Her Royal Hamness
But the most important ingredient, the main star of the holiday table, the thing that's almost like the epitome of our Easter tradition – that's definitely the ham. Sorry, vegetarians, but that's a fact. And the race for that perfect ham that will be the central piece of your Easter brunch begins long before the holidays...
“A typical start of an Easter family breakfast.” Image credit: Časlav Matijević
Ask around – everyone will swear they know where the best Easter ham can be found and claim they have the best dealer. What's the secret of a good ham? If it's not actually home-cured and produced in the family, it has to get the closest to that as possible. Nice and pink, tender, juicy, full-flavoured, not over-smoked, not too salty, not too fatty but not too dry as well. Of course, the demand is naturally bigger than supply, so some will seize this opportunity and try to sell mediocre mass-produced hams that don't really live up to your picture of a perfect Easter family meal. This is why many people are very careful about fostering a good relationship with their butcher before Easter. And it's normal to make a reservation for a ham with your name on it weeks ahead. Because finding the right ham is like striking gold.
“Slices of boiled ham love the company of horseradish.” Image credit: Domagoj Jakopović Ribafish
In most cases, the ham will be boiled, then cooled and sliced, served with horseradish sauce. Delicious, we all know it. The ham will last for days, and finally the leftovers will end up in sandwiches. Not often, but here and there you can see more ambitious cooks preparing the Easter ham wrapped in puff pastry. Yummy as well. But the ultimate recipe, the masterpiece, the dish that will impress every gourmand, the queen of the Easter brunch is without any doubt šunka u kruhu – ham in bread.
“Ham in bread is the Easter ham taken to the highest possible level, if you ask me.” Image credit: Forking Croatia
You take your carefully and lovingly selected ham and boil it. Let it cool down and drain it. Then you need bread dough. We're talking about an ordinary, old-fashioned wheat flour bread, nothing extravagant. The ham is nicely wrapped around all sides with the dough and baked in the oven. If you have some leftover dough and feel creative, you can make braids and decorate the bread, or even make letters and write something very original like “Happy Easter” on top. When the bread is done and you open the oven, the most amazing smell will fill the air and you simply have to resist the urge to cut it and have a slice right there. It needs to be cut on the table, just before the serving. The scene will be mouth-watering for everyone, trust me.
“Ham in bread is the Easter ham taken to the highest possible level, if you ask me.”
Image credit: Helena Varendorff
The genius thing about ham in bread is that it kills two birds with one stone. You have your ham and you have your bread all in one. The bread protects the ham so it won’t become dry, while the bread gets upgraded to a real delicacy because it soaks in all the wonderful juices and aromas of the ham. It’s a win-win! And the whole procedure is actually simpler than it sounds, once you find a reliable recipe. Since it’s a very seasonal, traditional, homemade specialty, šunka u kruhu isn’t something you will find in just any restaurant. If you find it at all, it’s most likely to happen in a farmstead restaurant or an agritourism B&B in the countryside around Zagreb. So it’s better to take things into your own hands and get busy.
Header image credit: Taste of Croatia
Author: Taste of Croatia / Morana Zibar