Christmas Recipe: chef teaches an easy recipe for tender ham with yogurt–mustard sauce | Press

Lisiane Miura shows how to prepare the traditional dish to make Christmas dinner even tastier.

December 2018 – Year-end celebrations are always accompanied by friends, family, and of course, food. One of the most traditional dishes of the Christmas holidays is tender (smoked ham). For those who want to innovate without giving up tradition, chef and nutritionist Lisiane Miura, from the Umami Committee, has selected a recipe to make dinner even more special: Tender with Yogurt and Mustard Sauce.

Simple to make, the recipe is extremely flavorful and looks very appetizing. “Tender comes pre-cooked, so you just finish it in the oven until it gets that famous golden color. The yogurt–mustard sauce is refreshing and adds extra flavor to the dish,” Lisiane explains.

According to the expert, the trick is to prepare the meal with foods that deliver the umami taste, such as tender, tomato, and mushrooms. “The combination of these three ingredients makes the recipe even more umami,” says Lisiane, referring to the fifth basic taste of the human palate, discovered in 1908 by the Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda. Check out the method:

Tender with Yogurt and Mustard Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 tender (small smoked ham), about 1 kg
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 15 whole cloves
• 1 cup (tea) orange juice (200 ml)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 100 g fresh mushrooms (portobello or button)
• A pinch of salt
• ½ cup (tea) sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips (80 g)

Sauce

• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp mustard
• 1 cup plain yogurt (170 g)
• ½ tsp salt
• A pinch of black pepper

Directions

1. Place the tender in a small roasting pan, rub the butter all over the surface, stud with the cloves, and pour the orange juice over it. Cover with foil and bake in a hot oven (220 °C/425 °F) for about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and brown for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 5 minutes or until tender. Season with salt, add the sun-dried tomatoes, and heat through. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. Make the sauce: in a bowl, combine the garlic, lemon juice, mustard, yogurt, salt, and black pepper. Mix well and refrigerate until serving.
4. Remove the tender from the oven, slice it, top with the mushroom–sun-dried tomato mixture, and serve with the sauce on the side.

UMAMI

It is the fifth basic taste of the human palate, discovered in 1908 by Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda. It was scientifically recognized in 2000, when researchers at the University of Miami confirmed the existence of specific receptors for this taste on the taste buds. The amino acid glutamic acid and the nucleotides inosinate and guanylate are the main umami substances. The two main characteristics of umami are increased salivation and the persistence of taste for a few minutes after eating. To learn more, visit www.portalumami.com.br.