Genius ideas for gammon

Gammon makes a fabulous meal with hot veg or salad, and can pep up other dishes, too. Now the festive season is over, supermarkets are selling the cuts at bargain prices, so it's win-win!

FIRST, COOK IT IN THE SLOW COOKER

Slow-cooker ginger beer & tangerine ham

A slow cooker is perfect for a joint like this. There's no need to glaze, if you're just wanting an easy weekday meal for the family.

Serves 8-10Prep 20 mins plus cooling and glazing Cook 10 hrs

1 Heat the slow cooker, if necessary. Put the gammon, onion, peeled zest and star anise in the slow cooker pot. Pour over the ginger beer, and top up with water so the gammon is just covered. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours, or until the meat is tender. You can eat as it is now, by cutting off the rind then slicing the meat, or you can glaze it in the oven using the following steps.

2 Cover and chill at this stage if you're preparing ahead. When you're ready to glaze, bring it back to room temp before continuing the cooking.

3 Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Carefully remove the rind from the gammon, making sure to leave a thin layer of fat, then lightly score the fat in a diamond pattern. Put the gammon in a roasting tin lined with foil. Put the honey, mustard and 100ml of the cooking liquid in a pan and bring to the boil. Cook until thickened. Spoon the glaze over the fat, then push a clove into the middle of each diamond. Bake for 20-25 mins, or until the glaze has caramelised (if the gammon was prepared ahead, add another 10 mins to the cooking time to properly heat it through). Slice and serve warm or cold.

PER SERVING 451 kcals, fat 27g, saturates 10g, carbs 4g, sugars 4g, fibre 0g, protein 50g, salt 6.5g

WHAT IF YOU DON'T HAVE A SLOW COOKER?