A late-night visit to the supermarket brought scant pickings. The fruit and veg shelves were stripped naked apart from abandoned piles of spring cabbage.
A couple of dozen lonely ham joints lay forlornly on the bottom shelf of the meat and poultry aisle.
I immediately thought of my mother, Gertrude Di Ciacca, who worked herself into a glamorous lifestyle by catering to all the local societies and clubs during the winter.
She offered one menu: Steak pie, braised steak or a York ham salad (that was her vegetarian option!)
She always was ahead of the game.
HOME-COOKED HAM AND BUTTERED SPRING CABBAGE
Ingredients
Smoked gammon joint, Ramsays of Carlukes is my favourite
2 sticks celery, I carrot, 1 clove garlic
5 black peppercorns
A bundle of herbs; parsley stalks, thyme, bay leaf, rosemary
Method
Cover the ham with cold water. Add the ingredients and bring to the boil.
Skim and lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and allow to cook for 20 minutes per 450g.
Check the ham is cooked when a skewer can be pushed in easily without much resistance.
Allow the ham to cool. Keep the stock to make soup.
To bake the ham
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4/180C
8-10 cloves
2 tablespoons marmalade, 2 tablespoons demerara sugar and 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Method
Use a sharp knife to score the fat with diamond shapes, taking care not to cut through to the flesh.
Stud the ham with the cloves.
Warm the marmalade, demerara sugar and cider vinegar in a saucepan to make a glaze.
Lay the ham on a baking tray.
Pour over the glaze and bake in the oven for 20- 25 minutes, basting frequently until the skin is golden and glistening.
Serve warm or cold. It will last refrigerated up to five days.
BUTTERED SPRING CABBAGE
Why on earth have so many cooks boiled cabbage to death so that it is the most reviled vegetable in the land…except for sprouts!
Ingredients
2 heads of spring cabbage
Butter
Sea salt
Method
Cut the cabbage in half and trim away the base and the white core.
Use a sharp knife to cut into long ribbons, lengthwise, so the central fibres of the cabbage are sliced through.
Rinse well in cold water, checking for slugs, the wise creatures who understand a good meal when they see it.
Choose a wide frying pan and melt some blobs of butter.
Shake the cabbage from the water and lay it over the butter.
Sprinkle with sea salt.
Cook with a lid on for 5-10 minutes until the cabbage has softened.
We are trading online during this period.
Visit www.valvonacrolla.co.uk or call 0131 556 6066.
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