A Starter For 12

Our friend Angela had us over for a big birthday lunch day today. And it was lovely. She does the same as me - has a board of bites waiting on the table and glasses ready so you can put something in your mouth the second you get your coat off - that is how it should be done. Doesn't have to be much - I often do a salami ring with a knife or a whole cheese and a dish of chutney or a slab of paté and some gherkins. I can't stand it when you've been there half an hour before anyone gets you a drink or opens the crisps. Or if after an hour they then start peeling the potatoes! I think it should be drink, nibble and then meal on the table all within 45 minutes. The only problem with my get-it-on-the-table method is that people are often late and I end up serving burnt roasties or dried-up dauphinoise .
Anyway, when we got to Angela's she had a giant board with two delicious warm tarts on it already cut into mouth-sized pieces. Good girl!

Angela's Ham & Spinach Tarts
Serves 12 - 18 as a starter
500g plain flour
250g chilled, diced butter
chopped fresh herbs: rosemary, thyme
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large leeks, thinly sliced
2 large onions, thinly sliced
500g spinach, wilted and and drained
8 large slices of cotto or other good, thin ham
500g creme fraiche
6 eggs
150g Comté, grated
handful freshly grated Parmesan

Make up a classic shortcrust pastry with the flour, butter, herbs and a little water. Use to line two standard Swiss-Roll tins. Prick with a fork and bake blind for 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan and soften the leeks and onions.

Spoon the leeks and onions into the tins, spreading them out to make a thin layer. Cover with the spinach and then the ham.

Beat together the creme fraiche, eggs and both cheeses. Spoon over the ham and bake for 20 minutes until set and golden brown.

Ham & Leek Pie

I made this today for tea tonight, I know it's July and I should be making salads but I wanted some comfort food, alright!
This is very straightforward but just delicious - leave the cheese in cubes rather than melt it into the sauce, that way you get little pockets of molten cheese throughout the pie. Serve with soft mash.

Serves 4
3 eggs
large knob of butter
3 leeks, sliced
1 large garlic clove, finely grated or crushed
few sprigs of thyme
300g piece smoked ham, torn into bite-sized pieces
800ml chilled white sauce (home made or shop bought bechamel or fresh cheese sauce will do)
200g good Cheddar, diced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
100g frozen peas
small bunch chives, snipped
1/2 x 500g pack shortcrust pastry
1 beaten egg, to glaze

Simmer the eggs in boiling water for 10 minutes, then cool, shell and quarter.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan and add the garlic, leek and thyme and cook for 10 minutes or so until softened.

Gently stir together the leeks, ham, sauce, cheese, mustard, peas, chives and finally the eggs. Season generously.

Preheat the oven to 190C/ Gas 5. Tip the mixture into a pie dish the roll and the pastry and use to top the filling. Brush with beaten egg and bake for 30 - 40 minutes until dark golden.

Ham, pepper and spinach frittata

Microwave a 200g bag of baby spinach leaves until wilted. Cook two whole red peppers under a medium grill turning until blackened and blistered. Cover with a tea towel and leave to cool. Beat 6 eggs in a large bowl. Pierce the bottom of the peppers and squeeze the juices into the eggs then skin seed and cut the peppers into strips. Cut a chunk of ham, about 150g, into pieces and stir into the eggs with the pepper strips and wilted spinach. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a splash of oil in a non-stick frying pan and pour in the mixture. Cook on the lowest heat until almost set through. Scatter a few cubes of Cheddar on top and slip the pan under a grill for a few minutes until completely set and nicely browned.

Ham and split pea soup

Now I have all this lovely stock from poaching the gammon yesterday and I can't throw it away. Predictably, I have decided on soup. Strain the stock into a pan, make it up to 2 litres with extra water then stir in 250g dried split yellow or green peas. Roughly chop the saved chunk of ham and a tomato and add to the pan. Bring to the boil, part-cover and simmer for 1 – 1 ½ hours until the peas have disintegrated. If you have any parsley left, add to the soup then whiz with a hand blender until fairly smooth. Very good for freezing.

Baked Gammon with Parsley Sauce

Robert got a lovely piece of gammon from the butcher today. It weighs about 2kg so should take about 1 ½ hours to cook. Because you can never tell how salty it’s going to be, I think roasting it without pre-boiling is a bit risky. I've put mine in a pan with a sliced carrot, onion, celery stalk and couple of peppercorns and rosemary sprigs, covered with water, brought it to the boil, covered it and simmered gently for 45 minutes. Half way through, I tasted the water for salt. At this stage, if it is very salty, drain off most of the cooking liquid and top up with a kettle of boiling water. Mine was not too salty.

Lift out the gammon and pat dry. If you want to make pea and ham soup, cut a thick slice off the joint and keep the cooking liquid. Place the joint in a roasting tin and roast at 180C for 30 minutes. Mix together two tablespoons of maple syrup and 1/2 a teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Brush this over the the gammon, turn the heat right up and return to the oven for 15 minutes.

Parsley sauce
Make a white sauce using butter, flour and warm milk (add half an onion to the milk as it warms if you want). If you’re not making the soup, add a bit of the cooking stock to the milk. Add a big bunch of curly parsley and whizz until smooth with a hand blender. Add salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon.

Stir fried cabbage
Heat a splash of sunflower oil in a wok or large frying pan and cook a sliced onion and garlic clove for a couple of minutes. Add sliced Savoy cabbage and cook over the highest heat for 2 – 3 minutes. Add a splash of water, lower the heat and cook gently for 5 minutes or so until the cabbage is tender.