Muscovado Sugar and Naartjie Glazed Gammon

Gammon is like the dessert of the Christmas savoury world. It's hands-down the best part of Christmas lunch (apart from well, dessert) and I'd be happy and willing to give up every part of Christmas lunch (Turkey - bleh.) but I will pretty much have a fight to the death for gammon.  I wouldn't risk my life for just any gammon though - only my Nanna's gammon, which is simmered in ginger beer and crusted with caramelized brown sugar. If there is one recipe that really has been passed down through the generations, it's this gammon. In fact, the recipe is so special that we always make sure that at least 2 people in the family know how to make it - you know, just incase!

 I've taken a bit of creative licence with Nanna's recipe and given it an extra South African spin by adding naartjie (Clementines) but you can totally stay traditional and go with the pineapple rings. Just don't make the mistake of using fresh pineapple - it has to be the tinned stuff, otherwise it just doesn't taste the same (I've tried). Nanna always glazed her gammon with brown sugar but proper Muscovado sugar is just glorious on this - it's rich and molassesy and forms a glossy varnish that isn't just sweet and sticky but tastes good too! Now, go make sure you share this recipe with someone else in your family, you know, just incase!

Muscovado Sugar and Naartjie Glazed Gammon

Serves 12 

2kg – 3kg cured and smoked gammon, bone left in

2L ginger beer

5 naartjies (clementines), juiced and rind removed (optional)

1 onion, peeled and halved
1 celery stick
1 carrot, peeled and chopped

3 star anise

1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf

45ml (3 tbsp) Natura Dark Muscovado Sugar

a handful cloves

Preheat the oven to 150°C. 

Place the gammon, skin-side down, in a large ovenproof roasting dish. 

Pour over 1,5L of the ginger beer, add the naartjie rind and juice from 3 of the naartjies (optional), the onion, celery, carrot, star anise, cinnamon stick and bay leaf. 

Cover the roasting dish with foil and place in the oven until the ham is tender, about 3 hours and 30 minutes. Pour off the cooking liquid and allow the gammon to cool slightly.(You could boil the ham on the stovetop too but my gammon was so huge I didn't have a pot that it would fit in!)

In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the remaining ginger beer, naartjie zest and juice and the sugar until dissolved. Bring to a boil then simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 200°C.

Lift the skin off the gammon, making sure to leave a layer of fat, then score the fat into diamond shapes. Press a clove into the tip of each diamond shape then return to the oven dish, brush with the glaze and roast in the oven until caramelised, basting every now and then until golden and glossy, about 20-30 minutes.  

COOK’S TIP

Caramelise naartjie slices in a pan with a little muscovado sugar and serve with the gammon for a local take on the traditional pineapple slices.

Spiced chocolate cheesecake with Christmas cake crust & Festive Decor ideas

Christmas decorations in our family home have always been the responsibility of my sister and I - as children we would decorate and redecorate the Christmas tree no less than 3 times before the 25 December, which not surprisingly drove our mother nuts! It was a happy coincidence then when my sister, Sarah-Jane and I were asked to team up and put together a very special feature for Food and Home magazine last month; 'A Guide to the Perfect Stress-Free Christmas' which ironically, was a not-so-stress-free experience creating it! But we did have tons of fun and hopefully, if you're feeling a tad stressed out about hosting Christmas lunch or dinner, it may give you an idea or two. 

A showstopper succulent wreath, rosemary napkin rings and hand-painted napkins for guests to take home as momento's.

I thought I'd share some of the great ideas my sister-dearest came up with (especially for an African-inspired Christmas), my favourite being the gorgeous succulent wreath she created as a centrepiece. Oh, and the paper origami! 

The perfect roast potatoes,  French-roast turkey and beautiful origami star string lights

The menu was all about tradition with a twist, my grandmother's French-roast turkey was the highlight - steam-roasted so it's juicy and falls off the bone - and stuffed with sage and dried pear bulgar wheat stuffing. This year, serve your turkey on a bed of fresh bay leaves, rosemary and sage - it looks so ridiculously royal and fancy with so little fuss! 

Three pea salad with mint dressing, Naartjie (citrus) and ginger beer gammon and Lemon-cured trout with herby mayo

My favourite recipe on the menu though, was this gorgeously rich and velvety spiced chocolate cheesecake which I really like not just for the decadence but because it's something a little different but still nods to tradition with the addition of a Christmas cake crust. Great for using up any leftover Christmas cake you have hanging around! 

Spiced chocolate cheesecake with Christmas cake crust

Spiced chocolate cheesecake with Christmas cake crust

Recipe originally created for F&HE Magazine December 2014 issue

Serves 12 

100g ginger biscuits, crushed

100g Christmas cake, crumbled into pieces

50g butter, melted

200g full-fat cream cheese

400g ricotta cheese

75g castor sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

40g cocoa powder

30ml (2 tbsp) brandy (optional)

5ml (1 tsp) ground cinnamon

100g good-quality dark chocolate, melted

200g dark chocolate, melted, to decorate (optional)

cocoa powder, to dust

Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease and line a 22cm springform cake tin.

In a food processor, blitz the crushed biscuits, Christmas cake and butter until combined then press into the base of the lined tin.

Place the cream cheese, ricotta and sugar into food processor and process until smooth.

Add the eggs, cocoa powder, brandy, if desired, cinnamon and the cooled melted chocolate and mix to combine. Pour the mixture over the biscuit base and bake in the oven until just set, 25 – 30 minutes. Turn the oven off and allow to cool in the tin. Once completely cool, refrigerate overnight.

To serve, unmould the cheesecake onto a cake stand and allow the cake to come back to room temperature before decorating with melted dark chocolate and dusting with cocoa.

Roast vegetable crumble and origami Christmas trees