Cider & clove glazed ham with apple & beetroot salad – Christmas is coming

 

I think it was perfect decision to try this cider & clove flavoured ham before Christmas. The apple & beetroot salad was originally created for the winter issue of the Stahl magazine (in a slightly different version, of course), and I liked it so much that I immediately knew that it would be a perfect pairing with this ham, as well.

Cider & clove glazed ham with apple & beetroot salad

For the cider & clove glazed ham:

- 750 ml cider

- 60 ml apple cider vinegar

- 1 bulb of garlic, cleaned, cloves grated

- 2 tsp. mustard

- 1 tsp. ground clove

- 200 g brown sugar

- 4 tsp. salt

- 1 leg of pork (5,5 kg)

For the apple & beetroot salad:

- 50 g butter

- 8 large beetroots, cut into cubes

- salt and freshly ground pepper

- 8 large apples, cut into cubes

- 1 orange’s zest

- ½ tsp. grated horse-radish

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C.

2. Cook the cider, apple cider vinegar, mustard, clove and 100 g brown sugar on moderate heat for 10-15 minutes until it thickens, then strain it.

3. Score the skin of the ham in a criss-cross pattern (or if you have a larger ham, remove the skin and score only the fat). Rub the mixture of the remaining sugar and salt into the skin, then place the ham onto a large baking sheet covered with baking paper and put it in the preheated oven. After five minutes, pour 3 tbsp. of cider sauce on the ham. Bake the ham for two hours, and pour some cider sauce on it regularly, do not let it dry out.

4. Steam the beetroot on the butter for 10 minutes in a covered pan. Salt and pepper it, then add the apple, horse-radish and orange zest and continue to steam for another ten minutes.

Serve the ham with the beetroot & apple salad and bread.

Chicken with grapes, honey and garlic – The recurrent autumn lunch

It is one of our favourite dishes! We don’t have many recurrent dishes in our menu, but this one always returns to the top of the wish list when autumn arrives. Regardless of the white wine, the kids also eat it usually, but we can also choose meat stock instead of the wine for choosier kids.

Chicken with grapes, honey and garlic

Ingredients:

- 1 whole chicken, with skin (preferably home-grown), cut into 4-6 pieces

- salt and freshly ground pepper

- 1 tbsp. oil

- 2 tbsp. butter

- 1 bunch of spring onion, sliced

- 250 ml whipping cream

- 150 ml dry white wine

- 1 tsp. mustard

- 2 cloves garlic, mashed

- 1.5 tbsp. honey

- 1 generous tbsp. tarragon, smashed

- 1 tbsp. corn-starch

- 300 g grapes, cut into halves and seeds removed

Preparation:

1. In the hot oil fry both sides of the chicken breasts for 2 minutes per side (start with the side with the skin on), then add the butter, cover the pan, and braise them on medium heat for 8-12 minutes depending on their size. Remove them from the pan.

2. On the remaining fat fry the onions.

3. Whisk together the whipping cream, wine, mustard, garlic, honey, tarragon and corn-starch, and cook together with the onion slices on moderate heat until it becomes thick. In the end add the grapes, as well.

Mashed potatoes, particularly baked mashed potatoes are a good match for this dish.

Beer beef stew with corn noodles – 3 countries in 1 dish

The idea comes from the Italian pici con ragú (this recipe is based on Jamie Oliver’s version). But I make it a little bit English by adding some beer, a little Hungarian by making it with noodles, and a little American by adding salted peanuts. I think we must sprinkle it with parmesan on the top, but make your own version!

Beer beef stew with corn noodles

For the corn noodles:

-          500 g corn flour

-          400 ml water (as much as necessary)

-          2 egg yolks

-          1,5 tsp salt

For the tomato beef stew:

-          olive oil

-          1 onion (chopped)

-          2 cloves of garlic (chopped)

-          500 g minced beef

-          1 bunch of fresh rosemary

-          4 bay-leaves

-          1600 g peeled, chopped tomato (tinned)

-          150 ml brown beer

-          salt, pepper

-          100 g salted, roasted peanuts (ground)

For the top:

-          parmesan (grated)

1. Fry the onion on the oil (salt it), then add the minced meat (salt and pepper it) and the spices. Fry the meet, and then pour the tomatoes and the beer to it. Salt and pepper it, and cook it for 2 hours under cover at low fire. At the end add the peanuts too.
2. Knead all the ingredients for the noodles, then put the dough on a cutting board, and cut noodles with a knife. Drop them in hot, salted water and cook them.
3. Mix the noodles with the stew, and sprinkle the dish with cheese.