Ham hock & lentils

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Gary Rhodes

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Recipe by Gary Rhodes

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1. Before starting the cooking process, first blanch the hocks to rinse away any impurities. To do this, just put the joints in a large saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 minute, then carefully move the pan to the sink and drain off the hot water. Refresh the hams under cold running water for a minute or so, then tip out the water.
2. The cooking process can now begin. To the blanched hams in the pan, add the onion quarters, along with the quartered carrots and the celery sticks, the thyme and bay leaf. Pour in enough fresh cold water to cover and bring to a simmer. The pan can now be covered with its lid and the hams cooked, keeping the liquor at a gentle simmer for 3 hours.
3. To check if hams are cooked, pull out the small bone close to the large one - it should be loose and come out easily. Rest hams in the stock for 15-20 minutes (30 minutes, ideally), so the meat softens and relaxes. Lift out the hams and set aside until cool enough to handle. Strain off 900ml/1½ pint ham stock into a jug and set aside. Reserve leftover stock.
4. Now prepare the lentils. First blanch them by plunging them into a pan of boiling water, then drain into a sieve and refresh under the cold tap. This process not only rinses the lentils well, but it also speeds up the entire braising process.
5. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the diced onion, carrot and celery, cover the pan and cook without colouring for 5-6 minutes. Tip in the blanched lentils, then pour in 900ml/1½ pint strained stock. Bring the lentils to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes - check occasionally and top up with more stock if needed - until tender. I prefer the braised lentils to have quite a loose final consistency without being over watery.
6. About 10 minutes before the lentils are ready, strip off the skin and fat from the hams with a knife, then remove the meat from the bones and cut it into rough pieces or shred it with your fingers. To serve, add the shredded ham and the coarsely chopped parsley to the lentils, and season with a twist of pepper. If you think you need a little more liquid, simply stir in an extra ladle or two of strained stock.

Prepare ahead

You can cook the hams one or two days before. Let them cool in their cooking liquid, remove, wrap and then refrigerate. Strain stock and refrigerate. Before starting to cook the lentils, shred ham and reheat stock. Reheat the ham with lentils in step 5, adding more stock if needed.

Per serving

390 kcalories, protein 28g, carbohydrate 24g, fat 20 g, saturated fat 7g, fibre 5g, salt 3 g

Latest comments and suggestions

• Pam

  03 April 2008

  Pam commented on this recipe

  A good 'rib sticker' tasted fantastic. Will definately be making it again Great value for money.

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• Soffit

  21 April 2009

  Soffit rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Can't agree with Pam. There is nothing in the ingredient list to really raise the flavour of what is a fairly tasteless part of the pig. My only deviation from the recipe was to include the trotter which, when left in the fridge gives you something that slices like Brawn....It may taste better cold than hot?

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Ingredients

• 2 ham hocks, about 1.3kg/3lb each
• 1 onion , quartered
• 2 carrots , quartered lengthways
• 2 celery sticks, cut into thirds crossways
• a few sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf

FOR THE LENTILS

• 250g Puy lentils
• a large knob of butter
• 1 large onion , finely diced
• 1 large carrot , finely diced
• 1 celery stick, finely diced
• 1 heaped tbsp coarsely chopped fresh parsley , flatleaf or curly

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Difficulty and servings

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Prep 30 40 mins

Cook min 3 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

• 2 ham hocks, about 1.3kg/3lb each
• 1 onion , quartered
• 2 carrots , quartered lengthways
• 2 celery sticks, cut into thirds crossways
• a few sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf

FOR THE LENTILS

• 250g Puy lentils
• a large knob of butter
• 1 large onion , finely diced
• 1 large carrot , finely diced
• 1 celery stick, finely diced
• 1 heaped tbsp coarsely chopped fresh parsley , flatleaf or curly

Per serving

390 kcalories, protein 28g, carbohydrate 24g, fat 20 g, saturated fat 7g, fibre 5g, salt 3 g

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