Hooray for Markies!

I wasn’t entirely honest in my last post.  The question that I claimed to be hypothetical was actually about my own experience.  Yes, I know you are shocked (I am, after all, a master of deception) but my motivation was not malicious.  I was embarrassed to have failed so miserably in my first attempt at cooking a large leg of meat.

My sincere thanks to all who gave me advice on how to salvage the ham.  I tried boiling it again with some potatoes to draw out the salt and when that didn’t work I submerged it in a vat of Coca Cola.  Unfortunately, that didn’t work either; it was a ridiculously salty joint.  Eventually, I admitted defeat, bagged/froze some of the salty meat for future minestrones and headed down town for an emergency replacement.   

God bless Marks and Spencers!

I am quite sure my family will also be praising Markies tomorrow night when they sit down to a dinner of roast pork and trimmings rather than just the trimmings.  Though I have to say, the side dishes I have planned aren’t too shabby!  In particular, Jamie Oliver’s leek dish should go down a treat.  

 Slow Roasted Leeks with Bacon

 (for 10 as a side)

12 medium leeks

Knob of butter

Olive oil

Palmful of thyme leaves

4 garlic cloves, chopped

Glass of white wine

200ml stock

8 rashers of streaky bacon

• Remove tough outer leaves of the leeks and chop off each end.
• Cut the green part of the leek off and chop finely.  Saute for 10 mins with the butter, a drizzle of olive oil, the garlic and thyme.
• Meanwhile, cut the white part of the leeks into 2 inch long sections.
• Add the sauted leeks to a buttered oven-proof dish and top with the white leek parts, preferably standing each white bit upright (that’s just aesthetics though).
• Add the wine and stock then cover with the bacon.
• Wrap tightly in tinfoil and cook in a 200oC oven for 1 hour.
• Remove tinfoil and cook for a further 20 mins or until the bacon is crispy.
• Serve with the bacon crumbled over the top.

Excuse my silence over the next week.  Myself and my family are all off to spend a week in a Perthshire cottage to celebrate my brother’s 40th and my 30th. 

Will tell you all about it next week.  🙂

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