Family Xmas Gammon and Braised Red Cabbage.

This is just a cracking meal for all occasions.It is my go to for a laid back Sunday Lunch, Boxing Day or entertaining friends and family. It always seems to go down a storm with adults and children alike. It’s the Sausage, Chips and Beans of the Sunday Lunch, and as is my wont, it is crazily easy to prepare and will sit  in comfortable silence awaiting it’s  curtain call. That allows me to prepare sides in a ridiciously laconic manner, this morning I did it  in my pyjamas, think Jo Brand in toasties, with bad hair and make up still down my face from the night before but more importantly with not an anxious thought in sight. Absolutely love it and you cannot believe how many delicous different accompaniments go with this sweet and salty hunk of Ham. I always try to have one of them wet if you know what I mean, just to oil the wheels otherwise the whole meal may be a little dry. So there is only one real possibility of a F..k up and that’s the quality of the meat. Personally I don’t like to eat Danish intensively reared Pigs and the English bred Pigs are usually super expensive so I wait for Supermarket half price offers (usually Tescos) and will buy a couple and freeze. That’s not to say that the Danish Gammon does not taste good, annoyingly it does. But I would prefer to support a happier piggy life than a downright miserable one. In order to assure  the quality of the meat I rely on its Provenance and buy a superior Supermarket brand. Nowadays you don’t have to soak and boil the gammon before cooking to remove saltiness but I always rinse it under the tap.

For this Family Xmas meal I am serving it with Roast Potatoes and Red Cabbage. The Red Cabbage can also be made ahead and just reheated. Infact we might as well just call this a b….y ready meal and cover it with clingfilm.

Red Cabbage

• 1 Red Cabbage,stalk removed and chopped into strips
• 2 tbsps balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsps soft brown sugar
• 2 sharpish apples peeled and cut into half moons about 1 cm thick
• 2 red onions cut into half moons
• 80g of butter
• salt and pepper

1. Pre heat the oven to 110 C. (I put mine in my Aga Simmering Oven)
2. Melt the butter in a large casserole dish
3. Add the onions and soften
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well
5. Cook gently for five mins
6. Put into the oven and cook for an hour.
7. Taste for seasoning

Gammon

Place in a roasting tray and cover with foil. Cooking times are 30 minutes per 500g plus 30 mins- so for my joint of 2.642 g cooking time is 3 hrs and 5 mins at 180 centigrade.I did what I usually do when cooking joints of meat.I cook it hours before and then keep warm or reheat covered .It gives you your oven back when you’re juggling and one less thing to get frazzled about. Apply to Swiney Snout.

I have linked this recipe with Cook Blog Share with Easy Peasy Foodie,Cook Once Eat Twice with Corina at Searching for Spice. and The Food Calender at Charlottes Lively Kitchen