Fave allo Speck

Speck is a smoked ham speciality left in Northern Italy by the Austrian invasion and it is used especially widely in the South Tyrol, where the Austrian influence is still very strong. The popularity of this shoulder ham has nevertheless spread in recent years to the rest of Italy where it is used as an alternative to the milder Parma ham. I like to use speck to impart its special smoky flavour to many dishes.