Recipe Method

1. Place the gammon, with the string cover still on, into a large saucepan.
2. Add the chopped naartjie, vegetables, pepper, coriander, cinnamon and bay to the pan.
3. Add enough cold water to cover the gammon. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for roughly 25 minutes per kg of gammon.
4. Drain, discarding the vegetables and spices, and allow to cool.
5. Preheat your oven to 180C.
6. Remove the string cover and gently cut the skin off the gammon, leaving the thick layer of fat over the top.
7. Transfer to a large roasting dish and pour a little of the cooking stock into the dish.
8. Liberally brush the gammon all over with marmalade. Overlap naartjie slices on top of the gammon, securing each with some cloves.
9. Bake for 30-40 minutes, basting with more marmalade and pan juices every ten minutes, until the gammon is golden and sticky. Allow to rest for 20 minutes before serving.

NAARTJIE MARMALADE

1. Wash and scrub the naartjies.
2. Use a vegetable peeler to peel off the zest in strips, taking care not to include too much of the white pith.
3. Cut the strips into slivers.
4. Top and tail the naartjies. Cut off all the pith and then segment the fruit, removing all off the pithy core and membranes. Reserve the seeds and add the flesh and juice to the zest strips in a saucepan. Cover with the water.
5. Make a pectin bag by placing the seeds into a bag fashioned from muslin cloth or a clean kitchen towel.
6. If the naartjies have too few pips, include the pips, flesh and juice from 2 lemons.
7. Place the pectin bag into the saucepan and secure to the pot handle if possible.
8. Bring to a brisk boil over moderate heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a splash of water if too much of the water evaporates from the boil and the peels start sticking to the bottom of the pan.
9. Remove from the heat, set aside the pith bundle and stir in all the sugar.
10. Rest the mixture for 30 minutes.
11. Squeeze the pectin bag to extract any remaining pectin. Add this pectin to the saucepan.
12. Set the saucepan over moderate heat and slowly bring to a boil.
13. The marmalade may take anything from 25-35 minutes to set.
14. Set a small plate in the freezer.
15. After 20 minutes you should start testing if your marmalade has set ( 103 C if using a sugar thermometer).
16. Spoon a small amount onto the chilled plate. If it spreads out and thins immediately, it isn’t ready. It should hold its shape, almost like an egg yolk. Push against it with your finger, if it wrinkles, it is ready.
17. Store, refrigerated, in a sterilised jar.