Grill, Don’t Roast, That Ham

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Grilled Ham With Nectarines

Quick polenta, rice or couscous

Steamed asparagus

Bibb lettuce with fennel vinaigrette

Favorite fruit sorbet

This fast, elegant dish starts with familiar flavors--ham with pineapple and cloves. But then, because they are in season and so delicious, we added nectarines.

What’s great about nectarines for the cook in a hurry is that they cook in a flash and (unlike peaches) they don’t have to be peeled.

There are other time-savers in this recipe. The ham is bought fully cooked and requires just a brief grilling to add flavor. Prepared sweet pineapple topping is used for the glaze, a little shortcut that eliminates both adding sugar and having to cook fresh pineapple.

For success, shop carefully. Buy good-quality ham: Check the label for freshness and watch out for a pale, slimy look with “rainbow” tones. Look for plump, unbruised nectarines with a creamy yellow skin color, as ripe as you can find--avoid any with traces of green near the stem. And don’t think that a red blush indicates ripeness. It’s just a characteristic of the nectarine variety and doesn’t develop as the fruit ripens.

Serve the ham with rice, couscous or polenta , all of which are available in instant-cooking form. If you’ve got extra time, the polenta can be briefly frozen to firm it up, then shaped into wedges and put on the grill. The bibb lettuce salad can be dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar plus a touch of fennel seeds or chopped fresh fennel. Accompany with steamed asparagus or lima or green beans and refresh with a fruit sorbet at the end.

GRILLED HAM WITH NECTARINES

Staples

Butter

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 to 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Shopping

1 (3/4- to 1-pound) fully cooked ham slice or leftovers from 1 whole fully cooked ham

3 nectarines, sliced and pitted

1 small bottle pineapple topping

Optional Side-Dish Shopping 1 box instant polenta, rice or couscous

1 head bibb lettuce

Olive oil

Fennel seeds or fresh fennel bulb

Fruit sorbet

1. Cut 1 (3/4- to 1-pound) fully cooked ham slice into thirds. Halve 3 nectarines, remove pits and cut in 1/2-inch thick wedges.

2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in small skillet over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup pineapple topping, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 2 to 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves.

3. Bring to boil, stirring. Stir in sliced nectarines. Heat until fruit is tender-crisp, about 3 to 5 minutes. Keep warm.

4. Brush some sauce onto ham. Cook ham on hot stove-top, outdoor grill or under broiler, about 4 minutes on each side, brushing with sauce.

5. Serve with remaining nectarine sauce.

Makes 3 servings.