Once a year

Gammon with spiced pears
1. 

These spiced pears are simple and quick to prepare. They make the ideal accompaniment to the gammon served hot, or cold for a buffet - maybe with a

hot parsnip gratin

The pears will keep for up to a week in the fridge in a Kilner-style jar or covered bowl with enough of the syrup to cover. The gammon can be cooked up to 2 days ahead, if serving it cold

SPICED PEARS
400g caster sugar
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 cinnamon sticks
4 bay leaves
4 cloves
3 tbsps white wine vinegar
6 mixed peppercorns
2 strips of pared orange zest
12 small firm pears, peeled but stalks left on

GAMMON
4Kg boneless smoked gammon joint
1 onion, peeled and halved
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
2-3 tbsps english mustard
2-3 tbsps light brown soft sugar
25-30 cloves

For the spiced pears, mix the sugar with 600ml of cold water in a large, wide-bottomed pan, stir over a gentle heat for about 5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Add the mustard seeds, cinnamon stiCkS, bay leaves, cloves, vinegar, peppercorns and orange zest and bring to the boil. Boil for about 5 minutes until syrupy. Meanwhile, halve the pears, cutting through the stalk. Add the fruit to the pan, lower the heat, Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes or until just cooked - test with a skewer. Leave the fruit to cool in the syrup.

To cook the gammon, put the joint into a large pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, drain and return the gammon to the pan - this will help to remove any excess saltiness from the meat. Re-cover with cold water, add the onion, carrot and bay leaf and bring to the boil again. Skim off any scum, then cover and simmer gently for two and a half hours. Remove the gammon from the cooking liquid (keep this to use as stock, if it's not too salty, but discard the flavourings) and transfer to a large carving board until it is cool enough to handle. Preheat the oven to 200C. Discard any string and, using a sharp knife, peel off the rind from the gammon and score a diamond pattern in the fat. Spread the mustard over the fat and sprinkle with the sugar. Stud the fat with the cloves in an even pattern. Roast the gammon for 25-30 minutes in a large roasting tin until golden. Transfer the gammon to the carving board to rest for 15 minutes before serving hot (or leave to cool completely and serve cold), with the spiced pears.

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