Ham baked in cider with parsley sauce.

This is an easy recipe for two people on a forbidding night when the cook does not have much time to pay attention to cooking. The flavor profile shouts eighteenth century England and British North America too. For two cozy diners.

• 12 oz good hard cider (we like Downeast)
• a big bay leaf
• some mustard seeds
• some whole peppercorns
• a peeled and split shallot studded with 3 or 4 cloves
• a ham steak (about a pound) with the small round bone section
• a Tablespoon of unsalted butter
• a Tablespoon of flour (preferably Wondra)
• a handful of chopped flatleaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 350˚.

1. Dump the cider in a pot with the bay, mustard, pepper and shallot, then bring it to a boil, cover and reduce to the most gentle simmer for about half an hour.
2. Drop the ham into an oven dish just big enough to hold it and pour on the cider mix, then bake it for another half hour.
3. Melt the butter in a smallish heavy skillet, whisk in the flour and slowly strain the cider mix into the roux: Toss the solids.
4. Let the sauce bubble up, then reduce it to a simmer and stir in the parsley while you slip the ham under the broiler (Grill to the British) to brown a bit.
5. Serve the ham on a dollop of the sauce with the rest of it in a boat at table.

Notes:

-Mashed potatoes or creamy grits are indispensable both to soak up the sauce and as a textural contrast to the ham. Paxo sage and onion stuffing (yes, the stuff in the little box) is a steady addition or alternative.

-You will need strong mustard like Colmans or Tracklement to accompany the ham, or good piccalilli (Fortnums is best, hands down) and something green for color and contrast. A savory applesauce spiked with butter, onion and sage would not be bad either.

-You may double the recipe; just stack the pair of steaks and add a few minutes to the baking time.

-To drink? Cider seems obvious but a dry steely Riesling is best. Get something Kabinett or simply trocken from the Rhine or a dry one from the finger lakes of New York. Ravinse is both revelatory and (relatively) cheap.