Negroni-glazed ham

Gluten-free | Dairy-free / Makes 12 serves / Takes 1 ½ hours

Negroni-glazed ham Photo: Jess Daniell \ Jess' Underground Kitchen

Ham is the star of the show on Christmas Day, and a large leg of ham will keep you happily fed for at least a week post-Christmas. You can serve it hot, straight out of the oven, or glaze your ham a day or two in advance to leave oven space for other dishes.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Negroni marmalade, or orange marmalade
• 1 thumb fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 star anise
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 tbsp seeded mustard, plus extra for serving
• 1 whole ham on the bone, cooked

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Place a medium saucepan over medium heat, and add the marmalade, ginger, garlic, star anise, brown sugar, mustard and 3 cups of water. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, until sticky and slightly reduced. Remove from the heat. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Carefully remove the skin from your ham (the easiest way to do this is by running your fingers gently under the skin) so you’re left with a nice layer of fat. Score the fat with a knife, and brush with half the glaze.

Place ham on a greased wire rack sitting inside a large roasting tray. Pour two cups of water around the base of the ham. Cook for up to an hour on the bottom shelf of your oven, brushing with extra glaze every 15 minutes, until golden brown and sticky.

Serve ham with remaining glaze and extra seeded mustard.

Tip: To stop your leftover ham from drying out, keep it in a ham-bag, old pillowcase or wrap it in a clean tea-towel in the fridge. Before using the bag, soak in a mix of 1 litre of water and 2 tbsp white vinegar. Wring out the excess liquid to leave the bag damp. Repeat every few days and your bone-in ham will last for up to two weeks.

Negroni Marmalade

If you're in need of an early morning tipple, reach no further than this orange & grapefruit Campari-spiked spread to slosh over your toast. Jokes aside, the addition of Campari to this negroni-inspired marmalade adds a delicious bitter-sweetness and while the alcohol is cooked off during the process, it’s a super fun edible gift and one of my favourite weekend breakfast treats! I love it on a cheese platter with a ripe brie and a funky blue, too.

Makes 8 cups / Takes 1 hour, plus overnight / Gluten-free + Dairy-free + Vegan

Ingredients

• 4 oranges
• 2 grapefruit
• 1.5 cups Campari
• 3 cups white sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 star anise
• 1 vanilla pod, sliced in half and seeds scraped out

Method

Remove the ends from the oranges and grapefruit, plus any visible seeds or excess pith. Quarter and slice into thin slices.

Place in a large bowl along with any excess juice and fill with cold water until the citrus is just covered. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge overnight.

Place the citrus and water in a large saucepan and add the sugar, Campari, cinnamon, star anise, vanilla seeds and vanilla pod, stirring well to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring regularly, until the mixture is reduced by half. Remove cinnamon stick, star anise and vanilla pod.

Pour the marmalade into clean, sterilised jars and allow to cool completely before lidding and storing.