Ham Hock Persillade With Piccalilli

Gordon Ramsay's family fare cook book challenge day 51:

*Ham Hock Persillade With Piccalilli

Served cold, ham hock persillade could be very a unique and convenient party treat, even better it is guilt free with super low calories. It would be a wonder substitute for holiday meat treats like meat balls and unlike meat balls it will keep your waist line after the holiday. Also the gelatin from it is a great beauty food for the ladies which helps to repair and rejuvenate skin cells. Wink wink.

 

It stays well in the fridge until you slice them when the guests arrive.  It took some time to prepare, but most of the time was on waiting. The pork hock was simmered for 3 hours, this made the hock meat so tender, the meat was flaked out with a fork and then moulded into a loaf pan with gherkins and capers. Then, the moulded meat was chilled in the fridge overnight. 

The next day, you just need to un-mould the persillade like you un-mould jello. Slice nicely with a warm knife, you get thin bricks looks like marble, which has delicious pink tone with scattered sparkling gelatin and beats of capers and gherkins. It is soft and tender but the same time it has good bites into them because of the gelatin, which almost taste like gummy bears. The gherkins and capers keep the flavor very interesting and mouth watering.

The Piccalilli, however, was unstoppably over powering the whole dish. I am not saying it is not good, but a bite of the piccalilli, you won't be able to taste anything else. I am eating the fresh made ones. The rest of them went to a jar. Stored in dark place, it will become like a pickled mix veges, and the flavor will grow deeper and better. Ha, can not wait for a month to open it during Christmas.

Making this dish is liking waiting for the Christmas morning. You take your time making everything, package it. Finally the morning, you open the package without an idea what will come out of it, but vola, you got this nice beautiful and half transparent ham hock persillade. If you have companies or hungry families in your house now, just slice it into small cubes and serve with the sauce from the piccalilli. Yum. 

Recipe online: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/890658/ham-hock-terrine-with-piccalilli