Ham hock … the photos

The ham hock comes from Waitrose in the cooked meats chiller. To help you find it :

Here's one pouch, flaked, ready to add to the croque with hock!

This is the perfect addition to your winter store cupboard. You get two pouches and so very convenient. I split the pack and freeze one for future use. You can of course cook your own ham hock but if you're stuck for time here's the answer!

You don't have to play cards – Saturday night supper with Strictly Come Dancing or, this weekend, F1 qualifying in the USA – whatever is your passion.

P.s. They demolished the soup and the croques with the hock - another croque was ordered as a lunch treat the following day – what more can I say.

The croque with hock

I'm sure you've heard of a Croque Monsieur – it's a baked, or more popularly, fried sandwich which forms a crispy crust but an oozing filling in the middle. Croque literally means “crunch” from the verb “croquer” - “to bite”. The croque is the perfect partner for my soup with a hat. This is not just any old sandwich!

There are heaps of different variations of the croque. My most recent gives you a short cut too if you're pressed for time. I assembled the sandwiches in the morning, ready to be completed in the evening.

Croque with hock

for 4 sandwiches

8 slices of medium wholemeal bread

4 tsps Dijon mustard

75g each of Gruyere and mature cheddar cheese, grated

1x90g pouch of cooked ham hock

1 medium onion, preferably sweet or mild flavour,

finely sliced and left raw

60g unsalted butter

Spread ½ tsp of mustard over each slice of bread. Spread the cheese onto 4 slices of bread followed by the onions and ham hock. Sandwich together with the other 4 slices of bread.

At this stage place your stack of croques on a large sheet of foil, wrap tightly and fridge.

When you're soup is in the oven :

Heat half the butter in a frying pan until foaming – you'll get two sandwiches in your frying pan – fry for 1-2 minutes on each side and then pop the croques onto a baking sheet and into the oven whilst you repeat using the remaining butter and two sandwiches.

You may think the onion would be harsh to the palate but I assure you it isn't, provided you use either a sweet or mild variety. The sharpness of the onion cuts through the richness of the cheese.

I should say too that I divided the 90g of ham hock between three of the croques, the fourth without the hock is for me – wrapped separately. It's no hassle to serve with or without!