Ham Hock Terrine

The difference between dishes I would cook at home, and those I would cook at the restaurant are twofold; firstly, the effort involved in sourcing the best ingredients (we currently use lightly smoked and cured Ham Hocks bought from local smoker, Capreolus Fine Foods); secondly, the preparation time; to make a Ham Hock Terrine takes 2 days. It's a worthwhile endeavour but as a home cook you've got to be organised to do it. This recipe is ideal if you start mid-week for a weekend dinner party, for example.

Ham Hock is a cheaper cut of meat and it's well worth sourcing a good quality joint from an independent butcher.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Ham Hock

1 onion

2 carrots

2 sticks celery

½ bunch Parsley

2 Gerkins

30 Capers

Small handful Hazelnuts

Method:

• Place the Ham Hock in a large pan and add water until it is just covered, then add the roughly chopped onion, carrot and celery. Cover the pan and simmer for 3 hours
• Take off the heat and leave it to chill
• Remove the Ham Hock and set the pan of liquor aside. Pick the meat off and chop into small pieces, place in a bowl
• Strain the liquor and return it to the heat on a rolling boil until it has reduced by 1/3, set aside
• Chop the parsley, gerkins, capers and hazelnuts and mix with the meat
• Spoon the mixture into a mould and press down gently. Add some of the liquor, then place in the fridge to set overnight

Presentation:

To serve, use a nice apple based chutney or homemade piccalilli (I'll do recipes for these soon)