Instructions: This is a great summer recipe and THE opportunity to do your grocerry shopping in a pet store.

I found this recipe in a french country cookbook. It is a regional summer recipe of the Lorraine area (Nothern France between the Champagne and the Alsace) most famous for the Quiche Loraine and the Moselle wines.

Leave the ham under a trickle of running water for 12 hours, or soak it a bit longer with frequent changes of water. Attach a piece of string to the nuckle and immerse the ham in a large two handled pot of cold unsalted water. Thy the string to the handles to stop the ham from touching the bottom. Put the pot on a low heat until it reaches boilling point. Drain, and put the hay in the pot so it encircles the ham. Now put in boiling water in the pot and leave it to simmer very slowly for a few (try 3)

hours. Now ham will gently take on the flavour of the hay.

Sauce: This sauce will go with any good ham. Let the cream, chopped shallots and mustard buble gently on a low heat for about 10 minutes. Mix in the butter, workes in with the flour and stir constantly to cook the four without letting it boil. Beat the egg yolks in a sauceboat as you gradually pour in the sauce. Season with salt and pepper and the finely snipped herbs.

Take the ham out of the pot, drain the hay and strew it on a dish with the ham on top. Serve whil the hay is still steaming, with the sauce on the side. Trust me your whole room will smell delicious for days.

This dish goes excellent with noodles (I served it with "Fides", wich is fat vermicelli with onion and cheese sauce) and fruit, like raspberrys, on the side. If you can get a hold of it you ought to drink a Gris the Toul with it. But frankly its almost impossible to come by. Any other vin gris will do (avoid the Gris the Gris from the meditarean) or a since it is a Loraine recipe a Moselle.

Final Tip: Dont eat the hay, unless your a horse ofcourse, its just their to smell nice and look pretty !

Casper de Swarte, Groningen, the Netherlands

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