Sweet Chilli Glazed Ham & Sweetcorn Pudding

I've been wanting to cook this ham for few weeks now and it finally happened last night. I wrote the recipe in my scribble journal just before Christmas with the thought, this will make a fantastic centre piece for a festive gathering, but came the season (and gone) and the ham sadly never made it to the table; not until yesterday anyway.

The night before cooking, I always soak the ham in cold water to get rid some of the excess salt, though I've been told there's no need to do that these days. The next day, place the ham in a clean pan and completely cover it with water and add peppercorns, bay leaves and grated ginger. Bring to the boil, the reduce the heat to a simmer. I cook the joint for 1 hour per kilo.

The glaze for the ham is simply made by mixing sweet chilli jam*, smoked paprika, light brown sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil in a bowl. When the ham had its time, remove it from the pan carefully to a roasting tin and remove the thick layer of the skin, leaving some of the fat. This should comes off easily in one large piece. With a sharp knife, score the meat diagonally and then pour the glaze over the meat, covering evenly. I highly recommend using a disposable aluminium tin or line your roasting tin with strong foil for easy clean up later. Cook in the pre-heated 200 C oven for 30 minutes.

Once the glazed is sticky and the joint is slightly scorched, remove from the oven and let it rest before you carve. Serve with some peas and sweetcorn pudding. Yum.

* I use Nudo sweet chilli jam because I love the product and it's organic. But you could as easily use the sweet chilli dipping sauce (Thai or Chinese) from the supermarket. Or if you want to have a go at making your own chilli jam, I have a couple blogger friends who can help you: Angela at The Good Soup and Anna from The Hospitality Guru.

Sweetcorn Pudding
Recipe by Nigella Lawson
Serves 8

5 eggs
510 g can sweetcorn, drained
418 g can creamed sweetcorn
300 ml full-fat milk
300 ml double cream
60 g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 180 C and butter an over-proof dish. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl and then add the remaining ingredients, mix well. Pour into the buttered dish and cook for about an hour, by which time it should have set within and puffed up slightly on the top.