Ingredients:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3/4 cup carrots -- thinly sliced
3/4 cup chopped onions
1 cooked ham (5 lbs, boneless, OR boned in ham 5 to 6 lbs)
4 cups dry white wine -- divided
6 sprigs parsley
2 bay leaves -- broken in half
6 peppercorns -- crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 dash ground cloves
1/4 cup apple jelly
3 tablespoons dijon-style mustard
2 cups nonfat chicken broth
10 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
10 1/2 tablespoons cold water
1 bunch fresh watercress -- for garnish
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Heat butter in large, heavy roasting pan over medium heat. When hot, add carrots and onions and saute, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Place ham, fat-side up, on top of vegetables. Add 3 cups wine, parsley, bay leaves, peppercorns, thyme and cloves to pan. Bring to a simmer. Remove from stovetop. Cover pan; transfer to oven. Bake until quite tender when pierced with knife, about 1 1/2 hours or longer, basting every 20 minutes with pan juices. Remove pan from oven; raise temperature to 450. Combine jelly and mustard in small saucepan; cook over low heat, stirring, until jelly is dissolved. Brush ham with mustard mixture and return to oven; bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven. Remove ham from pan; tent loosely with aluminum foil. Let cool for 20 minutes while making sauce. Discard bay leaves and parsley. Puree remaining vegetables and any juices in pan in food processor, blender or food mill. Return to roasting pan; place pan on stovetop over high heat. Add remaining 1 cup wine and stock; cook until mixture is reduced slightly, by a fourth. Stir together cornstarch and water; stir into roasting pan and cook, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens lightly.
To serve, cut ham into thin slices and arrange, overlapping, on serving platter. Garnish with watercress, top with a little sauce. Pass remaining sauce separately.
Per serving = 259 calories, 4 gm fat, 11 mg cholesterol, 473 mg sodium, 32 gm carbohydrate, 5 gm fiber, 12 gm protein
This recipe for Christmas Ham Braised In White Wine With Vegetables serves/makes 10
