Life is Great

Aromatic Christmas Ham [Printer Friendly Version]

Ham and chili jam recipes adapted barely from Nigella Lawson's Christmas Kitchen.

Note: The Christmas ham recipe is somehow not included in Nigella's official site. I found the source in Lifestyle Food AU very similar to her video so I referred to that (I don't have her book). Raw gammon is not readily available in all countries and although available in Singapore, I accidentally ordered a fully smoked ham. If you're using raw gammon, do follow the original recipe and boil the meat for at least 3 hours. I doubled the glaze recipe, finding the original portion insufficient to fully cover the ham.
Serves 10.

• 1 (4.5-6.5 kilograms) smoked gammon, with knuckle bone
  
• 250 milliliters red wine
  
• enough water to cover the meat (depending on size of ham and pot)
  
• 1 large onion, halved
  
• 2 cloves garlic (unpeeled)
  
• 1 head fennel, halved
  
• 2 star anise
  
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
  
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
  
• 1 tablespoon mixed peppercorns (I used a mixture of pink and black)

For the glaze:

• 20 whole cloves (depending on size of ham)
  
• 8 heaped tablespoons cranberry or redcurrant jelly
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Put all the ingredients, except those for the glaze, into a large pot, on the stove but off the heat, adding water until the ham is covered. Turn on the heat and bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to a very slow simmer and partially cover the pan. Cook for about 1 hour. (If using raw gammon, cook for about 3 1/2 hours as per the original recipe.)

Preheat the oven to 200°C (if using convection, turn fan on)/gas mark 6 with a wire rack at the lower third. Lift the ham gently out of the hot liquid, sit it on a board and let it cool slightly but not too much. You should be able to touch it without burning yourself. With a sharp paring knife, strip off the rind and a little of the fat layer if it’s very thick, but make sure to leave a thin layer of fat (you don't want a dry ham). Use the same knife to score a diamond pattern on the remaining fat on the ham, in lines about 2 centimeters apart. Stud the points of each diamond with a clove.

Put the cranberry or redcurrant jelly, cinnamon, paprika and red wine vinegar into a small saucepan and whisk together over a high heat, bringing it to the boil. Let the pan bubble away, for about 5 minutes, so that the glaze reduces to a thick syrupy consistency that will coat the fat on the ham. (Be sure to let the glaze thicken, another it will not stick to the surface of the ham.) Place the ham in a roasting tin lined with foil, as the sugar in the glaze will burn in the oven as it drips off. Pour the glaze over the diamond-studded ham, then put it in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the glazed fat has caught and burnished. Take the ham out of the oven and sit it on a wooden board to cool for about 2–3 hours before carving.


Chili Jam

Note: I couldn't find jam sugar so I used pectin mixed with regular castor sugar. In Singapore, pectin is available from Phoon Huat and I'm sure most other baking supply stores. If using jam sugar, the original recipe calls for 1 kilogram. Be sure to use either that or pectin in this recipe else your jam will not set.
Yield: About 1.5 liters

• 150 grams long fresh red chilies, each deseeded and cut into about 4 pieces
  
• 150g red peppers, cored, deseeded and cut into rough chunks
  
• 1 kilograms castor sugar
  
• 15 grams pectin (this is ideal for me, for a runnier jam use 10 grams and up to 20 grams for a sturdier consistency)
  
• 600 milliliters cider vinegar
  
• sealable canning jars, with vinegar-proof lid, such as Kilner jar or re-usable pickle jar

Sterilize your canning jars and leave to cool. Put the chilies into a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the chunks of red pepper and pulse again until you have a vibrantly red-flecked processor bowl.

In a wide medium pot, mix the sugar with the pectin well. Pour over vinegar. Turn on heat to low and dissolve the sugar in the vinegar without stirring. Once the sugar has dissolved, scrape the chili pepper mixture out of the processor bowl and add to the pot. Bring mixture to the boil, then lower heat to leave it at a rollicking boil for 10 minutes or until mixture reaches at least 105°C/220°F on a sugar/candy thermometer. (Be careful not to let the jam boil over.)

Take the pan off the heat and allow it cool. The mixture will become more syrupy, then from syrup to viscous and from viscous to jelly-like as it cools completely. After about 40 minutes, or once the red flecks are more or less have evenly dispersed in the jelly (as the liquid firms up, the hints of chili and pepper start being suspended in it rather than floating on it), ladle the jam into your prepared jars. You can stir it gently at this stage. Seal jars tightly.

Do ahead: Chili jam will keep for up to 1 year at room temperature as long as you have sterilized the jars properly and sealed them firmly.

Fruit Cake [Printer Friendly Version]

Cake recipe from my mother, possibly from the back of a Big Sister's Fruit Mix box. Royal icing recipe adapted from Yossi Arefi-Afshar's Apt. 2B - Baking Co.
Yield: 1 8-inch round cake

Notes: For this cake I didn't use a boxed fruit mix but instead mixed up some dried blueberries, cranberries and sultanas. Though I've chosen to make an alcoholic version of this cake, my mother's recipe is booze free and equally good. You can steep the fruit mix in a warm concoction of orange juice, star anise, vinegar and palm sugar to give it an extra kick. Fruit cakes are best made ahead and allowed to mature in flavor for at least 2 days.

• 375 grams fruit mix
  
• 500 milliliters rum
  
• 9 ounces all-purpose flour
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 1 teaspoon all spice (five spice powder is also good)
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  
• 6 ounces light brown sugar
  
• 7 ounces salted butter, at room temperature
  
• 4 large eggs
  
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a sterilized canning jar, soak the fruit mix of your combination in the rum, ensuring that the fruits are submerged completely in the liquid. Cover tightly and let it sit anywhere between 2 weeks to a month. When ready to make the cake, strain the fruits the night before and let stand to dry. Preheat oven to 190°C with a rack at the lower third. Grease and line an 8-inch round cake tin, set aside.

Sift flour and baking powder into a medium bowl, fold in the prepared fruit mix, making sure all of them are well coated with flour. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar till smooth and light. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl well. Add in the spices and vanilla extract. Remove bowl from mixer. With a spatula, fold in the flour and fruit mixture gently. Pour batter into prepared tin.

Bake for 45 minutes or until cake is done. Cool on a wire rack completely before storage. Cake keeps up to a year in the freezer and 3 months in the refrigerator, wrapped well.

Royal Icing

• 1 egg white
  
• 1 3/4 cups icing sugar
  
• 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a mixer with a whisk. Beat with hand or stand mixer until stiff peaks form. Use immediately to decorate, covering bowl with a damp dish towel to avoid icing from drying up.