Name: Ham Hock with Lentils
Yield: Serves at least eight
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 1 garlic bulb; 100 ml (3½ fl oz) (double) cream; 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard; salt and black pepper; ½ glass of dry white wine (say about 75 ml/2¾ fl oz); a handful of parsley stalks; 3 bay leaves; 2 teaspoons grain mustard; 25 g (1 oz) butter; 2 onions, both peeled, 1 sliced; a few sprigs of thyme; 2 ham hocks, weighing about 1.25 kg (2 lb 12 oz) each; 1 red chilli; 250 g (9 oz) green or brown lentils; 1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped; 1 large carrot; 4 celery sticks; a little squeeze of lemon juice

Preparation info

Serves at least
eight

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

A Long and Messy Business

By Rowley Leigh

Published 2018

About

The dark, moss-green puy lentils are traditional, but on this occasion I used the slightly browner Castelluccio lentils. They hold up just as well when cooked and have the requisite rich and earthy flavour.

Ingredients

2 ham hocks, weighing about 1.25 kg (2 lb 12 oz)

Method

Soak the hocks in a large pan of cold water overnight.

The next day, change the water, bring to the boil, then discard the water and cover with fresh cold water. Add the sliced onion, the carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaves and thyme. Bring to a simmer, skimming carefully, and cook over a gentle heat for 2½ hours, replenishing the water so it always covers the hocks.

Rinse the le