Christmas

Glazed and Baked Ham with Spiced Grilled Fruits

Wine match:

Oyster Bay Marlborough Chardonnay

This is the perfect centrepiece for summer entertaining.

Glaze: Combine the apricot preserves, nectar, honey, mustard

and the spices in a small saucepan. Whisk to combine and bring

to the boil. Set aside.

Ham: Remove the skin from the ham using your fingertips, taking

care not to damage the fat. Leave the skin on the hock. Score the fat

with deep cuts in a criss-cross pattern to form diamonds. Press a clove

into the corner of each diamond and secure each star anise with

2 halves of a toothpick.

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Completely line the base and sides of a large, shallow baking tray

with a double thickness of tin-foil. Place the ham on the tray and pour

over the glaze.

Place in the oven and bake for 11/2 hours, basting with glaze every

20 minutes. This cooking time will ensure the ham will have heated

through to the bone and the glaze is golden but not burnt. Allow the

ham to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Increase the oven to 200°C.

Fruit: Peel the pineapple, cut into quarters and slice out the core.

Cut each quarter in half lengthwise then cut each piece into two,

giving you 16 wedges.

Peel the mangoes and slice off the cheeks.

Place the pineapple on a lined baking tray. Combine the sugar and

spices and sprinkle over the pineapple and mango. Grind over a little

black pepper. Place the pineapple in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Turn the oven onto grill to pre-heat. Add the mango to the tray and

place under the grill. Cook until the sugar has caramelized to a good

golden colour.

To serve: Transfer the ham to a serving platter and surround with

the fruit. Garnish with a bunch of watercress or rocket.

(We wrapped the ham hock in a long piece of flax and secured

it with natural string.)

For more information go to www.recipeforsummer.co.nz