Chef’s trick cuts the mayo — and fat — in summer ham and pasta salad

I love ham, the good kind — meaning bone in, spiral-sliced, with no nitrates, nitrites, or water added, and organic. Organic? Yes.

About five years ago, around Easter, a supermarket I like sent me their seasonal ad, where I spied an organic ham — a bone-in (going to save that for making lentil soup later on), nitrate- and nitrite-free smoked ham.

It’s the flavor and texture that make such a ham worth the price. Over the following years, I learned that organic hams are seasonal and only available before Easter and Christmas, which is why I buy a 7- to 9-pound ham for two people.

I bring that ham home, unwrap it, and take it apart. Then I make Ziploc freezer bags with about a pound or so of ham in each. The bone goes in its own bag. Then, except for one bag, I freeze them all. That way, we can parse out those bags over the next six months and have dandy ham until the next seasonal ham sale.

Now, during some of our warmer days, I yearn to make cold salads. I make a lot (at least two quarts) so we can have several easy pasta salad lunches or dinners.

My go-to ham salad recipe uses a cup of mayonnaise. That is 1,600 calories and 176 fat grams. Lately, thanks to watching cooking shows featuring Italian cuisine, I learned that by using less water in the pasta pot, I could, after the pasta is cooked, use some of that starchy water to make Italian pasta sauces like the professionals.

I decided to try to make my pasta salad using 25% less mayo and instead using some of the cooled, starchy pasta cooking water to make the dressing.

Also, since sweet Vidalia onions are currently available, I doubled the amount of onion used. And, finally, if I could find them, I went with organic bell pepper, celery, and frozen baby peas.

I made the dressing first in a large mixing bowl, using ¾ cup mayonnaise and ½ cup of the cooled pasta water. I added all the seasonings, and the dressing actually looked thin and watery. Uh, oh.

I went ahead and added all the salad’s ingredients and, using a large rubber spatula, stirred and tossed them all together. Surprisingly, the dressing did not pool on the bowl’s bottom; it clung nicely to everything.

I refrigerated my salad for half an hour to let the flavors bloom and blend, and then tasted it. It was terrific. The salty ham and cheese, balanced against the sweet peas and dressing, tasted sensational. Plus, my pasta water trick helped me cut 400 calories and 44 fat grams.

Give it a try.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at 1leanwizard@gmail.com.

•••

Summer Ham and Pasta Salad

8 ounces uncooked penne pasta

¾ cup avocado oil mayonnaise

½ cup cooled pasta pot cooking water

1 tablespoon organic apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 tablespoon dried dill

1 teaspoon Kosher salt (or to taste)

½ teaspoon ground white pepper

8 ounces diced organic, smoked, fully cooked uncured ham

8 ounces cheddar cheese, diced

½ cup chopped Vidalia onion (or ¼ cup yellow onion)

1 green bell pepper, stem removed, seeded, and diced

1 cup diced celery

1 cup (3.25 ounces) frozen baby peas, thawed

Fill a 5-quart saucepan half full of water. Add ½ tablespoon kosher salt, stirring to dissolve. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and stir in, and when the water returns to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low so the water simmers very gently. Cook, stirring from time to time, according to package directions. Carefully remove one cup of the cooking liquid and set it aside. Drain the pasta in a colander and briefly rinse under cold water. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the cooled pasta cooking water, vinegar, sugar, dill, salt, and pepper until combined.

Add cooled penne to the mixing bowl, tossing to coat with the dressing. Add ham, cheese, onion, green pepper, celery, and peas, and using a large rubber spatula, stir and fold until combined and coated with dressing. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes or more. Makes 8, 1-cup servings.

Nutrition values per serving: 434 calories (60% from fat), 29 g fat (9 g saturated fat), 27 g carbohydrates (24.6 g net carbs), 4.4 g sugars, 2.3 g fiber, 17.3 g protein, 64 mg cholesterol, 768 mg sodium.

— Don Mauer