Preparing a Ham Knuckle

I love a challenge!

I walked into my local supermarket and was looking for inspiration what to cook on Sunday. The last dinners were vegan and then fish, a piece of meat was something I was looking forward too.
Looking over the huge presentation of different meats did not make it easier for me, nor did I get an idea what to cook.
Then I saw a couple of big pieces and took a closer look. The hind legs of a pig- ham knuckles. They were fresh, not cured or smoked.
I prepared cured ones together with my Dad a couple of years ago and had them with Sauerkraut.

A 1,3 kg piece went into my shopping basket and a bag of tricoloured carrots. And as always, when you have no idea how to prepare something, check Google. I found different recipes, mostly from Bavaria, where this is eaten often with lots of sauce and potato dumpings and kraut. That was a bit too much for my taste, but the method to prepare the ham nuckle stuck.
Doing it takes time!

recipe:
1,3 kg ham knuckle
4 l water
4 tsp salt
8 juniper berries
6 cloves of garlic
5 bay leaves
1 large onion
1/2 clementine
2 segments of an ugly or an grapefruit

Use a big pot with a lid.
Cook the seasonings in the salted water for 10 minutes before you place the washed ham knuckle in.
Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer and cook for 90 minutes.
Let rest in the broth for 30 more minutes.
Take it out and let it drip on a rack for 30 minutes.
Heat up the oven to 180 C fan.
Put the ham knuckle on the rack into the middle space and place a baking sheet below to catch the drip.
Bake for 60 minutes.

tricolored carrots:
1 piece fresh tumeric
1 piece fresh ginger
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp  onion powder
1/2 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil with lemon
1 tsp dark sesame oil
lemon salt and
orange pepper
chili salt
some dried salad herbs
1 tbsp Agave syrup
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1/4 bunch chives

Toast the sesame seeds and set aside.
Use a blender and chuck in all the dressing ingredients and give a quick blitz.
Peel the carrots and cut them into chunks and add to the sauce. Blitz again until you have the coarse or fine carrots you like-  I like mine a bit chunky- .