Name: Sticky tamarind and apple gammon
Ingredients: 1 kg unsmoked (or smoked), boneless, gammon joint; 3 bay leaves (fresh or dried); 6 cloves; 900ml cloudy apple juice; 2 onions, peeled and cut into 1cm thick slices; 2 granny smith apples, unpeeled, and cut into 1cm thick slices (no need to core); 1 ½ tbsp olive oil; 2 tbsp light brown sugar; 5 tbsp Ottolenghi Sticky Date and Tamarind sauce; fine sea salt and black pepper

Main Christmas

Serves 4

Prep 10 min

Cook 1 hr 5 min

The combination of tamarind and apple is both sweet and tart, making it the perfect pairing for salty, fatty ham. A touch of brown sugar helps things along once in the oven, resulting in a sticky, and very moreish, glaze that seeps into the onions and apples, creating a jammy-like texture. We love to serve this with a rich, creamy potato gratin and some sauteed greens for a Sunday lunch. Any leftover gammon is heavenly, sliced and stuffed into sandwiches, with some of the onions and apples squished on top.

Ingredients

1 kg	unsmoked (or smoked), boneless, gammon joint
3	bay leaves (fresh or dried)
6	cloves
900ml	cloudy apple juice
2	onions, peeled and cut into 1cm thick slices
2	granny smith apples, unpeeled, and cut into 1cm thick slices (no need to core)
1 ½ tbsp	olive oil
2 tbsp	light brown sugar
5 tbsp	Ottolenghi Sticky Date and Tamarind sauce
	fine sea salt and black pepper

Method

Preheat your oven to 220c.
Place the gammon in a medium lidded saucepan, along with the bay leaves and cloves. Pour over the apple juice and place on a medium high heat. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium low and simmer, lid on, for 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, arrange the onion and apple slices in a 20x30cm baking dish. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle over 1 tablespoon of the sugar, ½ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes until starting to caramelise. Remove the dish from the oven and set aside.
Carefully lift the gammon out of the saucepan, keeping the cooking liquid, and transfer to a plate. Remove and discard the string from the gammon before placing it on top of the onions and apples, then score the fat with a small sharp knife. Fish out the bay leaves and add them to the dish. Pour 100 millilitres of the cooking liquid around the onions and apples (discard the remaining liquid). Mix the tamarind sauce with the remaining brown sugar and spoon evenly over the gammon. Return to the oven for 25-30 minutes until burnished and sticky. Set aside to rest for 10-15 minutes before cutting into thick slices and serving, with the apples and onions alongside.