What to do with a whole salami

A whole salami is intimidating. Most people don’t know how to slice it; the rest think it’s for a board, eat half on day one, and forget about it.

Day 1, board: 80g, sliced thinly, on a plate with bread, butter and pickled walnuts. Eaten with a glass of something red.

Day 2, frittata: dice 50g and fold into eight beaten eggs with a handful of grated cheddar, fresh herbs and a splash of cream. Cook in a heavy pan, finish under the grill. Cuts into wedges; lasts two meals.

Day 3, pasta: slice 60g into matchsticks and fry hard in olive oil until crisp. Toss through hot rigatoni with garlic, chilli flakes, and the rendered fat from the pan. Add a handful of chopped parsley at the end.

Day 4, soup: render the rest into a chickpea and tomato soup as the base flavour. Salami is a stock cube here — 50g chopped fine, fried with onion and garlic, then chickpeas, tinned tomatoes, water, rosemary. Salt only at the end; the salami carries the salt.

The rind, by the way, is edible if you trust the producer. The white bloom on a Tamar salami is a beneficial mould. The orange-brown casings are usually inedible — peel before slicing.