Organic Unsmoked Gammon

A juicy, alternative way to enjoy your gammon joint; cooked in Coca-Cola on a low heat, with a glaze of mustard and demerara sugar. Use Cherry Coke if you can find it - it gives a delicious smokey BBQ hit.

Ingredients:

• 1.5kg organic Christmas gammon from Helen Browning's
• 750ml Coke or Cherry Coke (not diet)
• 1 red onion (peeled and thickly sliced)
• 2 bay leaves
• cloves (for studding)

For the glaze....

• 3tbsp English mustard powder
• 3tbsp demerara sugar

Method:

1. Place the gammon joint in a lidded casserole along with all the ingredients for the ham, apart from the cloves. Cover with water and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Reduce to a gentle simmer, cover with a lid, and cook for 1 hour 50 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to gas 6, 200ºC, fan 180ºC. Remove the skin from the ham using a sharp knife, leaving a good layer of fat attached.
3. Place in a lined roasting tin and score the fatty surface in a diamond pattern, taking care not to cut right through to the meat. Mix the mustard powder and demerara sugar with 2tbsp of the ham-braising liquid to form a paste. Spread this over the surface of the ham and stud with cloves. Bake for about 30 minutes until golden and glazed. Serve with mashed potato spiked with a little wholegrain mustard, roasted root veg and steamed green vegetables.
4. Meanwhile, strain the braising liquid and set aside for later – Nigella's tip is to use this to cook red cabbage, and it certainly works a treat!