Ad

  • 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

Nutrition: per serving

  • kcal390
  • fat20g
  • saturates7g
  • carbs24g
  • sugars0g
  • fibre5g
  • protein28g
  • salt3g
Ad

Method

  • step 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.

  • step 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.

  • step 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.

  • step 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.

  • step 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.

  • step 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.

RECIPE TIPS
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.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, January 2002

Ad

Comments, questions and tips (14)

Rate this recipe

What is your star rating out of 5?

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

Overall rating

A star rating of 4.3 out of 5.11 ratings

Sparrowsmum

Delicious and easy to make! I found the stock had plenty of flavour. I used a ham hock from my local butcher which was pretty good quality which may have helped. Thanks for a great recipe, will definitely make this again 😊.

catie74

I add some knorr liquid chicken stock concentrate ad reduce some white wine in it too. Great easy comfort food. Also good the next day as a welcome change to sandwiches in the kids packed lunch box

nintay1

Looks great and I intend to try it when I can locate some ham hocks locally.

1grahamsmith1

Hock is not a meat that carries a good deal of flavour and therefore it's necessary to enhance the recipe given here. I boil the hock with the addition of just a couple of cloves and some white peppercorns. Once the hock meat is ready to add to the lentils, I fry it quickly to add some…

topcat554

A star rating of 5 out of 5.

An excellent value, tummy filler that adults and children alike love. I also used smoked hocks that I had pre soaked overnight as I find that can remove some of the salt. Fantastic after a long walk on a cold day.

Ad
Ad
Ad