Gammon is often grilled or fried and served up as a generous bacon substitute - it really doesn’t often get the attention it deserves. As the weather improves it will be a fine addition to the barbecue line up, and can be basted with sauces and mustard to perk it up, great with salad in a crusty roll. But, on this occasion I thought it should be given a little sophistication to demonstrate that it really can be served as a lovely summer supper dish.

Like pork it does benefit from the company of apples and this recipe uses both apple and cider to produce a lovely gammon gravy. To accompany it I’ve proposed a bright and tasty mash with parsley and spring onion giving it a lighter, more summery flavour, and some simple sprigs of watercress would be perfect as a peppery garnish.

Ingredients - serves 4

25g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
4 x 150g gammon steaks
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 eating apple cored and diced
25g flour
500ml dry cider
1 tsp honey
sprig of sage leaves, chopped
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper
juice of half a lemon

for the mash:
4 large potatoes, cut into large chunks
4 spring onions, trimmed & sliced thinly
chopped parsley
50g butter
milk
salt & ground white pepper

large bunch of watercress, washed

Place a large flameproof casserole dish on a low heat and gently melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the gammon steaks, increase the heat, and seal until golden on both sides - you may have to do them in 2 batches. Remove the gammon and place to one side.

Now add the garlic, onion and apple to the casserole and cook until the onion is translucent, add the flour and cook for one minute. Pour in the cider, bring to boil and reduce by a third. Then add the honey, chopped sage leaves and mustard. Put the gammon steaks back into the casserole, squeeze in the lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste, cover and simmer for a further 20-30 minutes until the gammon is completely cooked.

Meanwhile cook the potatoes in salted water until tender, mash with the butter and add a little milk to bring to the right consistency. Fold in the spring onion and parsley and season with salt and white pepper. Divide between 4 plates and serve with gammon steak, watercress, and some sauce spooned over.