Sunday Supper 5: Ham and Peas

Recipe by Jamie Oliver, available at JamieOliver.com

*Click the link above for the full recipe, or find it at the bottom of the page

---

Pandemic blizzards hit different. In the before-times, the thought of all that snow making roads impassable, stranding my tiny little car, and essentially keeping me locked down at home filled me with anxiety. But, ten months into the stay-at-home life, Chicago's most recent foot of snow held a little anticipation. At least it'd be something to look at outside the window.

But that doesn't mean I wasn't going to lean into the cold, wintery isolation, food-wise. This recipe is everything I'd want if I were snowed in. Long-simmered layers of flavor, the almost creamy wholesome goodness of cooked barley, a healthy dose of vegetables to give you the vitamins and minerals you need to conquer the winter wasteland and the house-filling smokiness of ham hocks to make you think you've got a warming fire to sit by even if you don't.

Part stew, part casserole, this dish is hearty and full-bodied enough to stand on it's own. I could see it as a side dish, but for me, a bowl of this was a mighty fine Sunday supper all on its own. This is the definition of stick-to-your-ribs cooking, and I highly recommend you grab a dish and a bowl and help yourself.

The deliciousness of this dish rests on the quality of its two namesake ingredients - ham and peas. Since this is a winter dish, and fresh peas are hard to find in the winter, go with frozen. Frozen sweet peas, if you can. When it comes to ham, make sure you get some smoky goodness by going with smoked ham hocks or smoked pork hocks. Weight can be deceptive with hocks (they're mostly bone and fat), so be sure your hocks look nice and meaty (#thiccc). The recipe calls for 2.3kg (roughly 5lb) of ham hocks. My market only had 2 packages on hand, and they came out to about 3.25lb and the end product still felt meaty enough for me. (#blush)

Basically a mirepoix, with a small twist (leeks).

From there, the dish comes together pretty simply. After overnight-soaking and double-boiling your ham hocks, you start with slight twist on a mirepoix. Don't you feel fancy now? The recipe calls for fresh bay leaves, but that's something I almost never see in my market, and this time was no different. I used dried bay leaves, but doubled from 2 to 4 since they were pretty ... old.

Anyway, soften up those fancy French-ish veggies and then throw in them thick hocks, barley and stock and everything's done but the waiting. Well, almost. As you wait the long three hours and your concoction comes together, it's going to smell ... real nice. My whole apartment was filled with the smoky ham and sweet-sour barley. Check in on your baby every once in a while and make sure it's not too dry. Also, give everything a nice stir around the pot to prevent the sticking and blackening I ended up with at the bottom of the pan. Also a good idea to rotate those hocks every now and then if they're not submerged in the liquid.

Getting the meat off the hocks and then shredding and returning to the pan turned out to be a very messy endeavor for me. Which is pretty classic. Truthfully, just give the hocks a few minutes to cool down enough to touch and get in there with your hands, prepare to get messy and greasy, and just get to it. A ham hock is essentially a knuckle-type joint, from the back leg, between the knee and foot of a pig. So - mostly bone. You don't want that in your final product, it's already done its part with all that delicious flavor. Aside from bone, the next thing you'll encounter is fat. Lots and lots of fat and connective tissue. Discard that, too. Then, on each hock you'll encounter a nice pocket of delicious, deep-red smoked meat. That's the stuff. Shred it with a fork or your fingers and add those yum nuggets back to the dish.

Now it's time to add the peas. My third favorite green vegetable. The peas are going to add pops of brightness and grassiness and the flavor of green to the warm, deep, soulful flavors you've already developed - so treat them lightly. Cook them only a little bit. Test them as you go and I'd suggest keeping them pretty al dente to keep the crispness and bright green color. If they go mushy, they won't stand out, and that'd be a shame.

Finishing the dish is a matter of more greens, bringing freshness to counter the richness. I'm not a huge parsley fan in general, but the flavor works really well here. The herbaceous sting of parsley sings out just enough in the dish, but doesn't overpower. Mint sauce was a new thing for me. But I know how well peas and mint go together so I didn't want to miss out. A fairly common condiment in English and Irish cooking, it honestly seemed easier to just make a bit of my own than hunt it down in an American market. So that's what I did.

Easy Mint Sauce

This is basically a ratio to use as a guide, scale up or down as it suits you.

• 2 T Finely Chopped Fresh Mint

• 2 T Boiling Water

• 1 T Apple Cider or White Wine Vinegar

• 1 T Sugar

• Pinch Salt

• Dash Pepper

1. Combine it all up in a bowl, then let cool before using.

The Jamie Oliver website rates the difficulty of this dish as "Showing Off." Which I love as a concept of difficulty rating, but don't totally agree with. I wouldn't say anything in this recipe is especially difficult to pull off. It takes time, and planning (to soak overnight), but if you've got those two things, and a willingness to give this the attention it needs to come together, you're golden.

MY PREPARATION NOTES

• The soaking and double-boiling of the ham hocks is important to get the saltiness of the smoked meat under control.

• I did not use my mandolin slicer for the vegetables because I didn't feel like bleeding all over the kitchen. (Which, historically, will happen if I break out the mandolin.) So, if you don't have one, don't worry. Break out your sharpest knife and your knife skills and go to work.

• Make sure to keep an eye on the liquid during the long simmer. If you need to add liquid, make sure it's hot to keep the pot cooking. I kept some hot water on hand in my electric kettle to add as needed.

• Making the mint sauce is worth it. I made mine with cider vinegar and I loved the addition of tang to cut through so much richness and density.

• I think it'd be better to serve up your dish or dishes before garnishing each individually with the parsley and mint sauce. That will help keep those delicate flavors activated and present rather than wilting into the mass.

Rating: 4.4/5

Will I Make It Again?: Absolutely. This will be a cold weather go-to for me.

THE RECIPE