Easter leftovers? Make a ham salad.

When you find yourself knee-deep in leftover holiday ham, keep calm and make ham salad.

Use leftover Easter ham to make a ham salad sandwich.

A Palatable Pastime

April 21, 2014

You won’t need special powers to know that most people will be knee deep in leftover ham from Easter, and the same thing happens year round during holiday seasons. Ham is an obvious choice for feeding large groups, but it often lingers for days afterward. This recipe is a great way to use up a bit of that for lunch and it is quite simple to make.

Of course, if you like to make something like Ham and Bean Soup or Creamy Ham and Beans with your leftover ham, I have recipes for those as well, or perhaps your ham is really huge and you will want to try several recipes. And why not? They are really delicious and can be looked forward to as much as the ham in the main event itself.

So look to your market for special prices on hams during the holiday season and don’t fret too much if the ham is a bit more than you need. Take advantage of the economical prices and eat well with several different ham recipes.

Ham Salad

Serves 4

1 pound ham, finely chopped or coarsely ground

4-6 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

The Monitor's View

Thanksgiving as forgiving

1 rib celery, finely diced

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion or shallot

2 tablespoons pickle relish

Salt and black pepper, to taste

1. Pulse leftover ham chunks in a food processor until coarsely ground but not pasty; alternatively, finely mince with a chef’s knife.

2. Stir together ingredients, seasoning to taste with salt and black pepper.

3. Serve on bread or hard rolls with additional condiments, if desired.