HAWAIIAN HAM & CHEESE GRATIN

Feb 18

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When I was growing up, “Hawaiian Toast” was a typical German dish my mom would serve for lunch or dinner on our busy days. The great thing about it was that you could easily put it together in a couple of minutes and 10 more minutes in the oven made it a complete meal with minimal effort. The original recipe asked for a slice of toast topped with a slice of cooked ham, a slice of canned pineapple, and a slice of cheese. Although I really loved this dish, I’m not convinced that it was really healthy. Many years later when I was searching for easy quick lunch ideas on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, I had the idea to make a healthier, SCD legal version of this old favorite. Pineapples had long been one of my favorite fruits. During my childhood, we hardly ever had fresh pineapple in Germany, so once I moved to the US I was thrilled about the abundance of this tropical fruit in all of the supermarkets. Instead of canned pineapple, I cut up a fresh one, added SCD legal sugar-free ham, and topped it with young Gouda cheese. As for the toast, well I simply left that part out. The result was a delicious dish that I still enjoy as one of my fast and easy homemade lunches.

MAKES 4

INGREDIENTS
4 slices of cooked ham (I used Applegate sugar-free slow-cooked uncured ham)
4 slices of fresh pineapple, core removed
thinly sliced round gouda cheese

INSTRUCTIONS
Cover a rimmed baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
Add the ham to the baking sheet, place a slice of pineapple onto each ham, and cover with thinly sliced cheese.
Bake at 350°F / 180°C until the cheese is melted completely, about 15 minutes, or broil in the middle of the oven for about 5 minutes. Serve hot.

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