Pasta Enjamonada

Pasta Enjamonada
Pasta Baked in Ham Sauce

Sometimes an excellent cook gives me a fine recipe that doesn’t quite click with me in its original form.  This dish is a good example.  It started out as a sort of chicken casserole that is a specialty of María del Carmen Virués de Izaguirre.  In fact, I liked the sauce enough to rework it with cheese and baked pasta.  Made with thick, substantial varieties of dried pasta that can catch a rich sauce in the nooks and crannies, it has become one of my favorite “inauthentic” borrowings.

Makes 6 servings as side dish

8 ounces flavorful boiled or roasted ham, coarsely chopped
1 cup Mexican crema (see page 000) or heavy cream
2 tablespoons Pasta de Chile Seco or use Pasta de Chipotle
2 tablespoons “Salsa del Sabor Secreto”
1 1/2 cups milk, or as needed
1 pound dried pasta (a sturdy variety such as penne, bowties, ziti, or fusilli)
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon salt
4 ounces queso blanco (see page 000) or white cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Combine the ham, crema, chipotle paste, and “Salsa del Sabor Secreto” in a food processor or blender.  Process to a puree with enough milk to make a somewhat loose sauce.  (The ham may absorb a little more or less milk than the amount suggested.)  Set aside while you cook the pasta.
In a large saucepan, bring 6 – 8 quarts water to a boil.  Add the salt and butter; dump the pasta into the vigorously boiling water and cook until about half done roughly 6 – 8 minutes for smaller pasta, 8 – 10 for larger.
While the pasta is cooking, preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly butter a lidded 2-quart baking dish (for example, a Corning ware casserole with a glass lid.)
Drain the partly cooked pasta, refresh under cold running water, drain again as thoroughly as possible, and return to the pot.  Toss the pasta with the sauce and the shredded cheese; transfer the mixture to the baking dish.  Scatter the grated Parmesan over the top.  Bake, covered, for 20 minutes or until the sauce is hot and bubbling.  Remove the lid and bake for another 5 minutes to brown the top.