Mediterranean Cooking

Iberian Ham

Jamón Ibérico maridado con Cava Gran Reserva

Cava de Guarda Superior Gran Reserva Siviendo.png

This Cava is the ultimate in complexity. With great aromatic intensity, Cava Gran Reserva stands out for having its own personality and complex aroma, thanks to more than 30 months aging in bottle.

5 minutes

Difficulty

1 Person

Meat

Iberian ham is one of the best-known delights of Spanish cuisine. A product and a way of enjoying it that puts Spain firmly on the international gastronomic scene.

There are countless recipes featuring Iberian ham, because it tastes incredible and combines so well with so many different ingredients. However, the very best way to enjoy it bar none, is freshly sliced.

Iberian ham, whose flavour comes from its monounsaturated fats is perfect for pairing with cava, and is ideal for a cava tasting. But with or without a tasting session, at the Cava Regulatory Board we recommend you to have it as an appetiser with a glass of Cava Gran Reserva (aged for more than 36 months).

A good Iberian ham accompanied by a Cava Gran Reserva really is a match made in heaven. And if you have guests, this is an option that will never let you down.

Ingredients

100 g Iberian ham

Instructions

This dish is really simple and requires almost no preparation, but it is important to bear in mind our advice on presentation to make sure that you get the very best out of this excellent product: The slices need to be as thin as possible, and hand cut with a knife.

Iberian ham should be eaten at room temperature, around 21ºC - 24ºC. This is what really allows you to enjoy that soft, delicate texture that melts in the mouth. If you serve it cold, the essence is lost.

If you want to be able to appreciate how beautiful it looks with its rich red colour and marbled fat, serve it on a white plate. As it’s so thinly cut, if you use a dark or coloured plate, it’s natural colour will be lost.

Follow this advice, and you’re good to go. We advise you to match it with a cava gran reserva (aged for more than 36 months), because as Carmen Garrobo, director of the Escuela Española de Cata, said at a Salón de Gourmets where there was a tasting at which ham was paired with cava, “cava isn’t only for cleansing the palate, it also allows the aromas to flood through your retronasal passage, and it’s as if you’re still eating the ham”.