Today’s jambon-beurre supper is inspired by the Sunday teas Emily’s grandma, Nana, would make when she was little. It was always a simple but varied spread, and delicious due to the quality of the components and Nana’s skill as a cook and cake-maker.
There would always be good Welsh ham from the local butcher, fantastic fresh bread from the baker, and – best of all – creamy yellow Welsh butter, sold in clumps from a large block. Plus various cheeses (red Cheshire was Nana’s favourite); red salmon; lettuce; celery with salt; and always a simple salad of thinly sliced cucumber in vinegar. Rounded off with both a tart – apple or whimberry – and a sponge cake (Emily’s favourite).
The classic jambon-beurre is a great sandwich that features some of the tea’s key elements – ham, bread, butter and cucumber in vinegar. Its success depends on the quality of the ingredients and the generosity of the filling.
The butter would traditionally be semi-salted or unsalted, but today we used French butter with salt crystals. But any good quality butter is fine. You also want a baguette that looks slim, firm and crusty (not wide and spongy) – today we used a stonebaked one. But don’t use a sourdough baguette – we find them too chewy for this. A jambon-beurre in France will often come with a few cornichons, but we’ve replaced these today with Nana’s cucumber salad.
A traditional jambon-beurre would be made with either jambon de Paris (a pale cooked ham) or Bayonne ham (a more savoury cured one) – both French hams and tricky to find in the UK (or if you can, probably expensive). Today we replaced Bayonne with the more widely available Spanish Serrano ham. You could also use the ubiquitously found Parma, but Bayonne is closer in taste, and usually slightly cheaper. Some supermarkets do do a French torchon ham, which is quite close to jambon de Paris. Or you could use a good quality British ham if going down the cooked ham route.
Make the salad slightly ahead of time – it’s best if the cucumber sits in the vinegar for half an hour or so. Nana would often peel the cucumbers but you don’t need to – we like them semi-peeled which we think gives the best balance or taste and look. Also get the butter out of the fridge about an hour before you need it so it is easier to spread.
Cut the ends off the cucumber and peel off strips along the length with a potato peeler until you have a striped look, as below.
Add some vinegar to a small bowl – we use malt vinegar because Nana did and it’s inexpensive (you need a lot), but any vinegar is fine. Slice the cucumber as thinly as you can (Nana somehow managed to get them wafter-thin!). Add to the bowl with the vinegar. Stir well to separate the slices, and season with salt and pepper. Add more vinegar – you want the cucumber slices to be fully submerged.
Leave the salad to macerate for at least 30 minutes; put in the fridge if leaving longer.
To make the jambon-beurre, slice the baguette into generous pieces, then split down the middle and fold open.
Butter very generously – the clue is in the name, this is a ham-butter sandwich.
Fill generously with the ham, then fold and press down heavily on the sandwich to flatten it slightly.
Your jambon-beurre is ready! Serve with the cucumber salad. Bon appétit!
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