Celebration food
If you have guests this festive time, our perfect party recipes are sure to please
‘My favourite part of the festive season isn’t actually the big day itself, but the days that follow and lead into the new year, which in my household have traditionally always been filled with large gatherings of friends and family, and heaping tables with food laid out, buffet-style, for people to help themselves to as they wish. These recipes are perfect for feeding a crowd and I hope your loved ones enjoy them as much as mine do.’ Emma Franklin, cookery editor.
Marmalade &bourbon glazed ham
The beauty of a large ham is that it can be served warm or cold and is utterly delicious as a leftover, and this simple citrus and bourbon infused one is a real delight. Poaching the clementines with the ham cooks them gently, so the peel is tender enough to eat once you’ve decorated the ham with them.
SERVES 8 with leftovers PREP 25min, plus cooling COOK about 3hr 45min
• 3kg whole boneless smoked or unsmoked gammon
• Pared zest and juice 2 oranges
• 2 clementines, scrubbed
• 1 onion, thickly sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 20 black peppercorns
• 40-50 whole cloves
• 4tbsp fine shred marmalade
• 100ml bourbon
• 11/2tsp English mustard powder
• 1tbsp demerara sugar
1 Weigh gammon and calculate cooking time, allowing 25min per 450g. Put gammon into a large deep pan; add orange zest and juice. Top up with cold water to cover; add whole clementines, sliced onion, bay leaves and peppercorns. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer gently for calculated time, skimming off surface scum occasionally and topping up with water if needed to cover. After 1hr, remove clementines and set aside to cool.
2 Remove ham from cooking liquid to a board and leave to cool for 15min. Meanwhile, make the glaze. In a small pan bubble the marmalade and bourbon for 8-10min, until sticky and slightly reduced. Remove from heat and whisk in the mustard powder. Thinly slice the clementines (leaving peel on).
3 Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan) mark 7. Untie ham; use a knife to remove skin, leaving a thin layer of fat on the ham. Roughly score a diamond pattern into fat, spacing cuts about 1cm apart (not cutting into the meat). Brush ½ the glaze over the fat and arrange the clementine slices on top, securing each in place with several cloves. Brush with a little more glaze (reserving some for finishing) and sprinkle with the demerara sugar.
4 Line a roasting tin that will just fit the ham with a double layer of foil. Add ham, fat-side up. Roast for 25-30min, until deeply caramelised. Brush with reserved glaze (if it is too thick, reheat briefly over low heat) and serve warm or at room temperature in slices.
PER SERVING
