Glazed ham

Serves: 6 Prep: 20 mins (plus 24 hrs soaking time) Cook: 1 hour 25 mins

1 unsmoked ham (about 1.4kg) 1 onion, peeled and sliced 1 carrot, peeled and sliced 2 sprigs of thyme

5 black peppercorns 440ml (¾pt) apple juice/cider 2 tbsp runny honey

2 tbsp English mustard Some whole cloves

1. Soak the ham in cold water for 24 hours. Change the water at least once.

2. In a large saucepan add the ham, onion, carrot, thyme, peppercorns, cider/ apple juice and cover with cold water.

3. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer gently. Allow 20 mins per 450g, plus 15 mins. Keep the water level topped up so the ham is always covered.

4. Check ham is ready by inserting a fork into it; if it goes through easily it's cooked. Allow the meat to cool slightly in the pan before removing.

5. Preheat oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas Mark 6.

6. Mix the honey and English mustard.

7. Lift ham from the pan onto a baking tin.

8. Using a sharp knife, remove the skin from the ham, ensuring there is a layer of fat underneath.

9. Score the fat in a diamond pattern

10. Stud the fat with cloves. Spoon the honey and mustard over the fat.

11. Bake in the oven for 20 mins until the topping is browned and caramelised.

12. If serving hot, leave to rest for 45 mins before carving. If cold, leave to cool overnight.

Per 100g: 222 cals, 14g fat (5g sat fat), 2g sugar, 2.9g salt

or ham is perfect hot “A Christmas gammon can be made into a or cold and any leftovers meat freezes well. variety of dishes, plus the mustard and honey, I’ve included a glaze of the ham with flour but you can simply dust marmalade over then smear a jar of Seville same way.” the meat and bake in the "Throughout my recipes and in my column, I will always aim to share my top tips but I would also love to hear your top tips, which I will feature on my social media." “If you’ve never made your own cranberry sauce, why not give it a try? It takes less that 30 mins to make, the texture is controlled by you and it can be made in advance and frozen. the Another item ticked off to-do list! What’s not to love about that?”