7 Meals for 7 Days and a Spare

Posted by NanLT in Meal Planning, Special Features | 0 comments

Life is slowly returning to normal once again as we enter the New Year. It’s time to move away from the heavy and rich foods we were eating over the holiday time, back to simpler meals.

These family favourites take advantage of foods that are in season at this time of year.

Monday – Butternut Squash Risotto
Tuesday – Chicken and leek soup
Wednesday – Beef enchilada casserole
Thursday – Pan-fried pork steak with apple sauce
Friday – Chicken strips with chips
Saturday – Spaghetti Bolognaise
Sunday – Roast Gammon

Dessert – Trifle Sponge

Spare – Bangers and Mash

Roast Gammon

Gammons, or hams, can be smoked or unsmoked. Around our house, we prefer the flavour of a smoked gammon, but the cooking method is the same.

This tried and true two-step cooking method is one I learned from my mother-in-law.

You will need:

1 large gammon roasting joint
1 pot large enough to hold it
water to cover
large roasting pan
skewers to keep the gammon upright
whole cloves
Demerera sugar

Weigh the ham to calculate the total cooking time, or check the packaging to see if it tells you. My general rule for roasting any meat is 30 minutes per pound plus 30 minutes at Gas Mark 6/400F/200C.  Conversion chart

[amazon-product align="left" tracking_id="wwwsquidocoml-20"]B000KJ1488[/amazon-product]Place the gammon in a large pot, cover with water, and let soak overnight (at least 12 hours) to remove excess salt.

Drain the water, cover the gammon again with water and put on a medium-high heat. Bring up to a boil, cover, and let it cook for all but 1 hour of the total roasting time.

A 8 pound gammon would have a total cooking time of 270 minutes (30 minutes per pound + 30 minutes), or 4 hours 30 minutes. It would be boiled for 3 hours 30 minutes, then roasted for 1 hour.

Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 6/400F/200C.

Take the gammon from the water and place in a roasting pan. Place about 1/2 cup water in the pan.

Remove the outer skin from the gammon, leaving the layer of fat intact underneath. Score the fat in a diamond pattern. Place a whole clove in the center of each diamond. Sprinkle a thin layer of demerera sugar over the gammon.

Cook, uncovered, in a pre-heated oven for about 1 hour.

Serve with a selection of roasted vegetables. Gammon is especially nice with roasted sweet potato or butternut squash.

NanLT is a home cook with over 2 decades experience cooking for her family. Over the years she has developed a wide range of recipes for family eating. At Cooking with NanLT she provides recipes, hints, and tips for other home cooks.