Serves 4 as a first course

Potted ham with mustard recipe

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Takes 15 minutes, plus chilling (best made a day in advance)

200g good unsalted butter
250g good cooked ham, all fat removed
Up to 1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard or a smaller amount of English mustard
Up to 1/4 tsp ground mace or freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp chopped fresh sage
4-8 small sage leaves (optional)

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1. Place the butter in a small pan over a low heat and let it melt gently. Rinse a clean J-cloth and place it in a sieve over a bowl, then pour the butter through the cloth and sieve very gently, trying to keep as much of the cloudy milk solids in the pan as possible. You should be left with a clear, golden liquid in the bowl. Discard the milky solids left in the pan and the cloth.
2. Put the ham in a food processor and blend briefly. While blending, pour in about three-quarters of the cooled butter and blend to a paste. Season with mustard, mace or nutmeg, sage and black pepper. The mustard should give a warm background flavour and not dominate the ham. (For a more textured paste, blend half the ham in the processor and pull the rest into shreds with two forks, then mix it together.)
3. Pack into 4 small ramekins, pots or glasses. Put 1-2 sage leaves on each, then spoon over enough of the remaining butter to make a thin layer. Chill until the butter sets (about 30 minutes), then cover and chill for several hours. The flavour matures if this is made a day in advance.

Chef's tip

An old-fashioned treat and just right for the summer picnic season. Or serve it in small ramekins as a first course with some wholemeal or sourdough toast and a few cornichons (baby gherkins). It will keep in the fridge for a few days and works really well with the Quick summer pickle with mustard seeds (see recipe). Use a good cooked ham on the bone for this recipe: the sort carved by hand at delis and old-fashioned butchers.

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