Ham Tetrazzini
Creamy spaghetti tetrazzini with diced country ham, mushrooms, peas, and two kinds of cheese. The casserole that turns leftover Nelson Brand ham into Sunday supper.
Tetrazzini is the dish I make when there's leftover holiday ham and a half-full pantry — it's an excuse to use up half a box of pasta, the can of cream-of-something at the back of the cupboard, and whatever cheese is in the door of the fridge. It comes out tasting like a recipe that took a lot longer than thirty-five minutes.
The white pepper plus black pepper combination sounds fussy and isn't. White pepper has a gentler, almost floral heat that fades into the background; black pepper kicks the dish forward. Together they round out the cream sauce so it doesn't taste flat.
If you want to make it ahead, stop after the cheese melts but before adding the pasta. Refrigerate the sauce up to two days. When you're ready to serve, gently reheat the sauce, cook the spaghetti fresh, and toss everything together at the last minute — that's how you keep the noodles from getting gummy.
Country ham is what ties this casserole together. Cure-aged ham gives the sauce a savory backbone you can't get from a generic cooked ham. Order Nelson Brand country ham and turn next week's leftover into Sunday supper.
Ingredients
- 8 ozspaghetti
- 2 tbspbutter
- 1/2 mediumyellow onion, diced
- 6 ozmushrooms, sliced
- 1 (10.75 oz) cancondensed cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
- 1/2 cupmilk
- 1/4 tspwhite pepper
- 1/4 tspblack pepper
- 1 1/2 cupsdiced Nelson Brand country ham
- 1 cupcooked peas
- 1 cupcheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cupParmesan cheese, shredded
- to tastesalt
Instructions
Cook spaghetti in salted water according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms; cook 5 to 7 minutes, until the onion softens and the mushrooms turn golden.
Stir in the condensed soup, milk, white pepper, and black pepper. Whisk until smooth.
Add diced ham, cooked peas, cheddar, and Parmesan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the cheeses melt and the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
Add the drained spaghetti to the skillet and toss until every strand is coated. Taste, salt as needed (the ham is salty already), and serve hot.
Get the country ham.
Every Nelson Brand recipe starts with our hand-selected, dry-cured country ham — shipped direct from Fairfield, Nebraska.
Shop country ham →