The sweet, salty flavor of Parma ham and the smooth, tangy creaminess of melted cheese can be paired together perfectly in a hearty one-dish meal. This dish is relatively simple to prepare, and with the variety of pastas and cheeses available, it's easy to make it your own. With some attention paid to the dish's composition, it can be served as both a healthy main course or as a side dish.
About Parma Ham
Parma ham gives this dish an upscale gourmet touch. Parma is a specialty cured ham with a sweet taste and rosy color. By law, only hams produced and cured in the hills around Parma, Italy, can be considered Parma hams, and only pigs bred in 10 specific regions in northern and central Italy can be used to produce the hams. Parma ham is an all-natural ingredient that contains no fillers and no water. It is simply salted and cured for at least one year in a specialized process.
Basic Preparation
This dish is basically macaroni and cheese accented with ham. To prepare, simply combine a basic cheese sauce and the Parma ham with pasta. When stirring together the ingredients, add freshly shredded cheese to the mixture; it will act as a binder. Top the dish with more cheese, then bake it until it bubbles and browns slightly. To make your own cheese sauce, cook equal parts butter and flour in a pan. Slowly add in milk, cream and cheese, stirring as you go. Keep the heat low so that the cheese melts smoothly. If desired, you can add cream cheese to make the sauce extra creamy and give it added flavor.
Tips
You can use any type of pasta you prefer for a Parma ham and cheese bake. Macaroni is a classic choice, but penne, mostacchioli, rigatoni and any other short tubular pastas work well, as the sauce gets trapped inside the tube, ensuring that it is present in every bite. If you choose to make your own cheese sauce, choose cheese varieties that melt smoothly and evenly, such as cheddar, Monterey jack, Swiss, Colby, Havarti or fontina. Other cheeses that don't melt as easily, such as feta and goat cheese, can be mixed in with the pasta and cheese sauce to add flavor and dimension to the dish. Tangy cheeses such as cheddar and Monterey jack complement the salty, savory taste of Parma ham well, and mellow cheeses such as Swiss or Havarti allow the ham to stand out as the main flavor.
Nutrition
Parma ham contains 3 g of saturated fat per 1-oz. serving, and is high in salt. Because they generally incorporate cream and milk in addition to cheese, cheese sauces can also be quite high in calories, saturated fat and salt. However, Parma ham is high in protein, and cheese sauces contain high amounts of protein, vitamin A, vitamin D and calcium. To trim fat and calories from this dish, look for low-fat bottled cheese sauces, or prepare a homemade sauce with low-fat milk instead of cream. To add vitamins, minerals and fiber, substitute for whole-grain pasta for white and include vegetables, such as cooked broccoli, spinach, carrots or peas in the dish as well.
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