Charcuterie turned into crisps: Serrano ham or Milano salami, or perhaps spicy chorizo? Dried in low oven in a couple of hours, this is my no-recipe, one-ingredient recipe.
No-recipe recipe
I’m feeling slightly ridiculous presenting you with this recipe – is it even a recipe if it has one ingredient and one line of instructions? Is it not more of a tip, a hack, a how-to? On the other hand there are godzillions of recipes boasting how few ingredients they feature so perhaps this is kosher after all.
Ham crisps for low-carb diet
The crisps are a throwback to my short-lived ketogenic diet period. Keto diet, in case you’ve been living in the wilderness for the last couple of years, is based on consuming next to no carbohydrates, substantial amounts of fat and a little protein.
Bonkers, I know, but some people swore by how great it was; all I noticed was smelly breath and weight loss commensurate with calorie intake, in whatever balance of nutrients (you can read my keto diary as a diversion).
Wonderful snack
But the ham, salami, chorizo or assorted charcuterie crisps have stayed with me as they are actually a wonderful snack, something to nosh at a box set binge or to take on a car journey. Lean and mean protein snack is certainly better than potato crisps or a bag of peanuts.
You can buy tiny bags of ham or salami crisps but they are rather expensive so another incentive to make them at home. You needn’t use very posh Parma or Bayonne ham because the flavour intensifies during the drying-baking process so even a supermarket own cured sliced ham will taste delightful. I like Serrano ham best as it’s rich but not too salty.
And finally, I’ll let you into a secret: crumble any leftover crisps you can spare over a scrambled egg for a treat of a breakfast.