Ham & Cheese with Plum Chutney

 

Ham & Cheese with Plum Chutney

Take a classic Ham & Cheese sandwich and create something new with the sweet and tart plum chutney. This is a great sandwich recipe because you can serve the plain classic version to the kids, and keep the tasty stuff for the adults!

Sandwich
8 slices whole-wheat/multigrain bread
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
8 ounces thinly sliced baked ham
8 ounces thinly sliced sharp white Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups loosely packed mixed lettuce greens

Plum Chutney
5 red plums, ripe but still firm
1 large Granny Smith apple
2/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Plum Chutney:
Halve the plums and chop coarsely to yield 3 cups, set aside.

Halve the apple lengthwise and core it without peeling. Coarsly chop to yield 1 cup.

Combine 1 cup water and the sugar in a large heavy saucepan, over high heat. Stir to dissolve sugar and bring to a boil wthout stirring. Add vinegar, ginger, garlic, half of the diced plums, and the diced apple. Bring mixture to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Add remaining plums, orange zest and cinnamon. Bring to a gentle boil and cook until thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes. Remove and cool. Store in a sealed container until picnic time.

Sandwich

Spread Dijon mustard generously on bread. Top with 3 or 4 ham slices, 2 cheese slices, and 2-3 tablespoons of Plum Chutney. Add lettuce and top with top slice of bread.