By Michael van de Elzen

Serves 6

Ingredients

  • 1/2 free range cured & smoked ham
  • x2 330ml crisp or granny smith apple cider
  • 2 cups of cherries (stones removed)
  • 2 Tbsp wholegrain mustard
  • 500g demerara sugar

Preheat a oven to 180C. Slice the skin of the ham and score the fat in a diamond pattern. Combine the cider and sugar in a pot and bring to the boil, reduce until syrupy (bubbles will increase in size and slow) stir in the cherries and mustard. Allow to cool

Smear the mix over the ham and place it in the oven for 40 minutes - 1 hour depending on size, until caramelized. Serve hot or at room temperature if transporting.

Buttercup salad

  • 2 large buttercups
  • 8 large vine-ripened tomatoes
  • 4 Tbsp olive oil
  • Salt
  • Black pepper
  • 200g rocket leaves
  • 200g feta, cut into cubes
  • 1 cup walnut halves, toasted

For kalamata honey

  • 12 pitted kalamata olives
  • 1 Tbsp honey

For rocket oil

  • 100g rocket leaves
  • 4 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 190C. Carefully cut buttercup in half and scoop out seeds. Slice into wedges and place in roasting tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 25 minutes, add tomatoes to tray and cook for a further 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the kalamata honey, blitz olives and honey together until smooth. For the rocket oil, blitz rocket and oil together until smooth.

Remove veggies from oven and arrange on serving dish with rocket, feta and toasted walnuts, then drizzle with rocket oil and dollops of kalamata honey.