Baked mid cumberland ham with messine sauce

Ingredients

For the gammon
Onions chopped
Cloves
Black peppers
2 bay leaves
Cinnamon
2tbs honey
2tbs Demerara sugar
1 tin pineapple

For the messine sauce
(use Elizabeth David's recipe which is ideal for this dish)
Fresh tarragon leaves chopped
Chervil chopped
Parsley chopped
2 shallots chopped finely
8oz unsalted butter
4tsp flour
4tsp mustard
8 eggs beaten
2 pints of cream
Lemon juice

Method

For the gammon: Prepare the gammon by inserting some of the cloves. Then place the meat in water with the onions more of the cloves the peppers bay leaves cinnamon honey half of the sugar and finally most of the pineapple and juice.

Cook over a low heat for 20 minutes per 1lb plus 20 minutes.

The meat can be studded again with the rest of the cloves and glazed over with a little more honey and the rest of the sugar.

Finish by roasting with a little of the stock but do watch that this does not burn while cooking.

For the sauce
Work together the butter flour mustard eggs cream and lemon juice to taste. Season and add the other ingredients.

Coulson says this is a glorious sauce and is a wonderful combination with slices of ham.

To serve

Reserve some of the chopped pineapple to serve. An ideal accompaniment is well creamed potato beaten with a fork until nearly white.

Also serve a green vegetable of your choice - spinach is particularly good or possibly just a green salad with little dressing.