Artichoke and pepper sauce for gammon

A literally make-do-and-mend sauce, this recipe is the result of a disastrous fridge-freezer meltdown just before Christmas 2020 and a concerted effort to not waste the contents of the dying, once icy electric coffin...

On the Sauce

This spur-of-the-moment recipe for an artichoke and pepper sauce for gammon used both things at risk of expiring in the dying icebox as well as other stuff in the kitchen cupboards. I made it primarily as something to accompany a gammon joint that I had had to roast as short notice and gave to a friend. But, I have since discovered that it works very well with roasted pork, beef and game.

In addition to the positive feedback on that occasion, I have since made it a number of times and find that in addition to roast gammon, it works well with chicken, lamb (weirdly) and as a veggie "thing" with baked sweet potatoes.

Shopping list

for the sauce for gammon

(seems like it should be "anything at risk of perishing", but anyway...)

• 5 or 6 Turkish (sweet) green peppers; sliced

• 1 to 2 artichokes; cooked or preserved, cut into cubes

• 1 onion, finely diced

• 2 cloves of garlic; crushed or finely chopped

• 1 vegetable stock cube/jelly

• mushroom ketchup to taste

• Half a cup of fresh cranberries

• 2 tbsp creamed horseradish

• 1 tbsp wasabi

• pink pepper; crushed

• two handfuls of fresh wild rocket

• Extra virgin olive oil

Cooking method

1. Heat a little olive in a frying pan. Add the garlic and, as soon as it turns golden, add the finely diced onion. Stir continuously and prevent from sticking or burning

2. Add the sliced Turkish green pepper and stir the mixture, adding the artichoke as soon as the green peppers start to soften, dousing with mushroom ketchup to keep the ingredients moist as necessary

3. Dilute the stock cube/jelly in approx. half a cup of boiling water

4. Add the fresh cranberries and, when they rupture, add a little of the stock, ensuring there is enough liquid in which the ingredients can simmer, stirring constantly

5. Slowly allow the ingredients to soften, adding the vegetable stock bit-by-bit so that there is sufficient liquid to allow them to simmer but never "drowning" the contents

6. Similarly, add the pink pepper, horseradish and wasabi, bit-by-bit, finally adding the last of the stock

7. As the sauce begins to reduce and is near to cooked, add the rocket so that it has time to wilt without being overcooked

Serve poured out while still hot or allow to cool to be refrigerated/frozen to be served later.