It’s been 3 weeks and 1 day since I left London life for village life, and I have to say with each day I grow happier with my decision! Less stress, more play and more time. Just what I needed!

There is one thing I do miss about living in that fabulous city however, and that is cooking for the 3 London men of my life:
Joshua Pullen
Colin Moore
Stephen Swinnerton.

It was only natural for me to do one last meal for them before leaving, and base it on my foxy-fictional hero, 30 Rock’s Angie Jordan (who inspired me on how to handle a number of sticky situations during London life). Those of you who know the character know this left but one option.

or, more accurately for this meal, Gammon.

WHOLEGRAIN MAPLE GAMMON.

Ingredients
1 fine smoked gammon joint (with the rind!!)
180ml of maple syrup
2 – 3 table spoons of wholegrain mustard
Caster sugar
1 bay leaf
1 white onion
Plenty of time

Superstar DJ. Here we go!

1. First, you want to get that bad betty soaking. Fill a large sauce pan with water and add a few table spoons of sugar. Soak your gammon in it for approximately 12 hours. This will stop it from being salty.

2. Remove the gammon and pour that water down the sink. Give the pan a quick rinse, then refill it with water, add half your maple syrup, 2 tablespoons of sugar, a bay leaf, the whole onion (whole! Don’t cut it, don’t peel it, just chuck it in) and the gammon. Put it on the hob and boil it for 2 hours.

3. Ok NOW we’re getting to the fun part! Get your gammon from the pot and place it on a chopping board. Remove the rind- it should peel off with ease! Score the fat of the gammon with a knife (see picture below). Now mix your remaining maple syrup with 2-3 tablespoons of whole grain mustard, place your gammon in a roasting tin, and paint the scored fat with the entire lot. It will dribble down all over your gammon which is really really awesome. I was serving mine with roast carrots, so also added these to the roasting tin at this point! Place this gorgeous thing in a oven pre-heated to 190 degrees. Roast for 45 minutes, basting with the delicious maple/mustard mix regularly.

4. Serve! We had ours with carrots and potato wedges, and garlic mayo for dipping. It was ridiculously tender and well received by all!

It was a wonderful send-off with wonderful friends! One final night of good food, great company and a stupid amount of gin and wine. I can’t say attempting to conduct a moving day with a raging hangover the following morning was what I’d had in mind, but it was honestly worth it.

BYE LONDON! Look forward to being your tourist again soon 🙂