Ham Hocks Pot Roast with Parsley Sauce

I watched Jamie Oliver make this on his Save with Jamie show, yumm!

• 2 x 800 g smoked ham hocks, skin on
• 3 large onions
• 8 large carrots
• 1.2 kg potatoes
• 4 fresh bay leaves
• 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 bunches of fresh curly or flat-leaf parsley (60g)
• 20 g unsalted butter
• 20 g plain flour
• 500 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 2 teaspoons english mustard

• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Preparation

Place the ham hocks in a large deep casserole pan, cover with cold water and place in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius.

Drain the ham hock and return to the pan.

Peel and roughly chop onions and carrots, peel and halve the potatoes and add to the pan with 3 bay leaves and the thyme.

Just cover with cold water, put on a high heat and bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes, skimming away the scum on the surface.

Place a piece of grease-proof paper the same size and shape of the pan over the top Transfer the  oven for 2 ½ hours or until tender.

Meanwhile, pick and roughly chop the parsley leaves, finely chop the stalks(most flavorsome part)

Melt the butter in the pan on a medium heat then stir in the flour to make a paste. Add the milk a splash at a time, stirring continuously until you have a white sauce.

Stir in the mustard, vinegar, and the remaining bay leaf, all of the parsley stalk and some of the leaves, vinegar, season to perfection and leave to bubble away for around 15 minutes until drizzling consistency.

When done remove the ham and place the hocks on a large platter. Arrange the veggies around the edge, pour parsley sauce over and scatter the remaining parsley leaves. Push bones and skin to the side as you serve

Use the broth to make a pea and ham soup. Cook peeled and diced potatoes  in the broth adding frozen peas for the last couple of minutes. Blitz and stir in any leftover ham.