Ham, squash, marmalade You may think this sounds a little odd, but the delicate bitterness of marmalade is delicious with salty ham, and also cuts the rich sweetness of squash flesh. When choosing squash, go for small ones, and choose a good eating variety, such as Sweet Mama or Crown Prince, or an acorn or red kuri, rather than the monstrous pumpkins used for Halloween celebrations. You can make this dish with cooked or leftover ham, but you want thick wedges or chunky pieces rather than thin slices. Serves 6–8 3 gammon hocks 1 carrot, quartered 1 celery stalk, quartered 1 onion, quartered 1–2 squash (1.5–2kg in total) 2–3 tablespoons rapeseed or olive oil Some leafy sprigs of thyme (optional) 6 bay leaves (optional) 6 tablespoons marmalade Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the gammon hocks in a large pan with the carrot, celery and onion. Pour on enough cold water to cover and bring to the boil, then skim off any scum. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook gently for 2–3½ hours, until tender. An hour or so before the ham will be cooked, preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas 5. Cut the squash into wedges, scoop out the seeds and put into a roasting tin large enough to take the ham chunks as well (later on). Season the squash all over with salt and pepper, trickle with the oil and toss well. Roast for 25–30 minutes. Once cooked, remove the ham hocks from the pan, reserving the liquor. When cool enough to handle, remove the skin and excess fat from the hocks. Take the meat off the bone in large chunks. Add the ham chunks to the dish with the thyme and bay leaves, if using. Mix the marmalade with 3–4 tablespoons of the warm ham liquor (or water, if you haven’t cooked the ham yourself); you want a thick coating consistency. Spoon this marmalade mixture over the ham and pumpkin. Return the tray to the oven and bake for a further 20–25 minutes until glazed and bubbling. Serve with something green, such as buttered Savoy cabbage or a salad of winter leaves.
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