Ingredients
- 1 x 4.5-5.4kg (10-12lbs) fresh or lightly smoked ham (make sure it has a nice layer of fat
- 60-80 whole cloves, depending on the size of the diamonds
- 350-450g (3/4 lb) Demerara sugar
- 1 small tin of pineapple (use 75-125ml of the juice)
- For the mango relish
- 50ml medium sherry
- 50ml white wine vinegar
- 50ml water
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2tsp salt
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 star anise
- Pinch of ground mace
- 1 mango, peeled and diced
- 1 small red pepper, seeded and diced
- 1tbsp lemon juice
1. If the ham is really salty, soak it in cold water overnight. The next day, discard the water. Cover the ham with fresh cold water and bring it slowly to the boil. If the meat is still salty there will be a white froth on top of the water. In this case, cover the ham with fresh cold water again and repeat the process. Finally, cover the ham with hot water and simmer until it is almost cooked. Allo0w 25 minutes to each 450g for ham, 20 minutes for a loin of bacon.
2. Make the mango relish. Put the sherry, vinegar, water, sugar, salt, cinnamon, star anise and mace into a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer over a medium heat for five minutes. Add the mango, red pepper and lemon juice, lower the heat and simmer for five minutes more. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Spoon into a screw-top jar and refrigerate until required.
3. Preheat the oven to 250C/475F/gas mark 9
4. Peel the rind off the ham, cut the fat into a diamond pattern and stud each diamond with a whole clove. Blend the brown sugar to a paste with a little pineapple juice. Be careful not to make it too liquid. Spread the over the ham.
5. Bake it in the hot oven for 20 minutes, or until the top has caramelised. While it is glazing, baste regularly with the syrup and juices.
6. Serve hot or cold with mango relish.
