Glazed and Baked Ham with Spiced Grilled Fruits

From issue #10.
Photography by Vanessa Wu.
Glazed and Baked Ham with Spiced Grilled Fruits
A shared table

This is the perfect centrepiece for summer entertaining.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup apricot preserves such as Barkers Apricot Glory
1 cup apricot or mango nectar
3 tablespoons liquid honey
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1⁄4 teaspoon each ground cinnamon, mace and cloves
whole cloves and whole star anise
1 whole, cooked leg of ham 1 ripe pineapple 2 mangoes, firm but ripe 1⁄4 cup brown sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon each cinnamon and cloves
watercress to garnish

METHOD

Glaze: Combine the apricot preserves, nectar, honey, mustard and the spices in a small saucepan. Whisk to combine and bring to the boil. Set aside.

Ham: Remove the skin from the ham using your fingertips, taking care not to damage the fat. Leave the skin on the hock. Score the fat with deep cuts in a criss-cross pattern to form diamonds. Press a clove into the corner of each diamond and secure each star anise with 2 halves of a toothpick. Remove the toothpicks before serving.

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Completely line the base and sides of a large, shallow baking tray with a double thickness of tin-foil. Place the ham on the tray and pour over the glaze.

Place in the oven and bake for 11⁄2 hours, basting with glaze every 20 minutes. This cooking time will ensure the ham will have heated through to the bone and the glaze is golden but not burnt. Allow the ham to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Increase the oven to 200°C.

Fruit: Peel the pineapple, cut into quarters and slice out the core. Cut each quarter in half lengthwise then cut each piece into two, giving you 16 wedges. Peel the mangoes and slice off the cheeks.

Place the pineapple on a lined baking tray. Combine the sugar and spices and sprinkle over the pineapple and mango. Grind over a little black pepper. Place the pineapple in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the oven onto grill to pre-heat. Add the mango to the tray and place under the grill. Cook until the sugar has caramelized to a good golden colour.

To serve: Transfer the ham to a serving platter and surround with the fruit. Garnish with a bunch of watercress or rocket.

(We wrapped the ham hock in a long piece of flax and secured it with natural string.)