Ham in Coca-Cola

This sounds totally gross, but don't knock it till you've tried it. And you really have to make it yourself to appreciate this recipe in all its glory. There are few things more fun to do than to pour a two-litre bottle of Coke on a 2-kilogram piece of ham (or gammon, rather). There's a good recipe for this in Nigella Lawson's Nigella Bites (amusingly, under the section headed Trashy). Basically, you get a mild-cured piece of gammon (you can soak it overnight to remove some of the salt), put it skin down in a large stockpot with one onion, pour two litres of Coke (the normal version, not Diet or Cherry or Orange or Zero or any of that), bring it to the boil and simmer it for two hours:

When it's done, let it cool slightly and take the skin off. Make a criss-cross pattern on the fat with a sharp knife and stick some cloves where the lines meet. Then spread a couple of tablespoons of dark treacle all over the fat, some demerara sugar and mustard powder, and cook for about 15 minutes at 180C.

Serve with vegetables of your choice

The ham has a deep, smoky, caramelized flavour. Be sure to keep the cooking stock, which you can use as a base for stews (in small doses, as it's very sweet!).