Yes, you could just buy it in a jar or tin, but mustard is so easy to make that you really ought to try it at least once
Yotam Ottolenghi
Making your own mustard may seem a bit of an indulgence when there are so many options available to buy in tins or jars, but do give it a go. It’s incredibly easy, the results are fast and the feeling of simple but tangible achievement is really rather lovely, in a “Ta-da, look what I made!” way.
Homemade mustard also gives you the opportunity to play around with the variables: texture, pungency and flavourings. Whether you want your mustard smooth or wholegrain is simple enough. For a smooth mustard, soak the mustard seeds in a jar that’s large enough to accommodate them when they swell (a lot), and make sure it’s not sealed, to avoid any unforeseen explosions when they do. Once they have been soaked, simply transfer the seeds and any unabsorbed liquid to a food processor and blitz to a wet paste. Your mustard will be runnier than commercial varieties, but you can always thicken it up with a little flour, if you prefer. For a completely smooth mustard, simply pass the mix through a fine-mesh sieve. Then it’s ready to have any flavourings you fancy added to it: a pinch of salt, a scrap of honey, various ground spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, allspice all work) as well as dried and fresh herbs such as basil and tarragon, which is common in the slightly vinegary and sweet Bordeaux mustard. Wholegrain mustard, as you might expect, doesn’t require blitzing, but any mustard’s kick depends on the seeds being damaged to a greater or lesser extent. So, even in wholegrain, the seeds require some crushing, which I do with a pestle and mortar. This process releases the enzymes within, which, when coupled with water, activate the pungent compound. These compounds reach their peak of strength after about 10 minutes, and will break down further unless you do something to prevent it. An acidic liquid – cider or wine vinegar, white wine, lemon juice, unsweetened grape juice – will stop this reaction, as will heating the mixture, and the pungency and flavour will therefore be preserved. The liquid you choose also affects how pungent your mustard is – grape juice produces something more heady than cider or wine vinegar, for example.
When mustard seeds are left whole and cooked – as in, say, many Indian dishes, where they are toasted or fried until they pop – the fact that the cells are undamaged means that the enzymes remain inactivated, and the resulting flavour is nutty and bitter rather than pungent. Mustard loses its flavour when subjected to heat, so add it only during the final stages of cooking. It provides a welcome kick to so many of the dishes that provide comfort in January: cauliflower or macaroni cheese, a creamy mash or gratin. Those are the kind of dishes that make me keen as mustard. A very simple recipe to get you started. This keeps in the fridge for a good few weeks, so the glow you’ll get from making your own is one that lasts. Makes one small jar.Homemade wholegrain mustard
3 tbsp black mustard seeds
3 tbsp English mustard powder
¼ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp runny honey
1 tbsp white-wine vinegar
60ml dry white wine
½ tsp salt
Wash and sterilise one small jar and lid, and set aside. Put the mustard seeds in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar, and pound lightly, until about half of them are crushed and the rest only partly so. Transfer to a bowl with all the remaining ingredients, and mix. Pour into the jar, cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before using; the mustard needs this time to firm up. And that’s it – see, I told you it was easy.
Creamy chicken with mustard and gherkins
A classic chicken fricassée in a creamy mustard sauce with a sweet-sour hit from the gherkins. Serves four.
1 tbsp sunflower oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 chicken thighs (about 1kg), skin on and bone in
30g unsalted butter
1 large onion, peeled and finely diced
5g thyme sprigs
400g small button mushrooms
1 tsp paprika
300ml chicken stock
2 tsp homemade (or shop-bought) wholegrain mustard
100g soured cream
80g double cream
10 small gherkins, cut in half lengthways
5g parsley leaves, roughly chopped
5g tarragon leaves, roughly chopped
Put the oil in a medium bowl with half a teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper. Add the chicken and mix with your hands to coat. Put a large saute pan for which you have a lid on a high heat and, once hot, add half of the chicken skin side down. Sear for six minutes, turning halfway through, until both sides are golden-brown, then remove the chicken from the pan and set aside while you sear the rest of the chicken. Keep the oil in the pan, keep the pan on the stove and turn down the heat to medium. Add the butter, onion and thyme, and saute for five minutes, until softened. Add the mushrooms, cook for eight minutes, until they take on a little colour, then add the paprika, half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Stir, cook for a minute, then add the stock and mustard. Cook for five or so minutes, to thicken the sauce, then stir in the chicken, cover and leave to cook for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, stir through both creams and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes more, until the chicken is cooked through; if the sauce needs further thickening, lift out the chicken, reduce the sauce, then put the chicken back in. Off the heat, stir in the gherkins, parsley and tarragon, and serve piping hot – mashed potato or plain boiled rice would make a very happy partner.Decadent ham hock sandwich
My take on the classic BLT, elevated to a higher plane by the addition of braised ham hock and mature cheddar. The ham hock takes a while to cook, so, rather than just making enough for these sandwiches, I’ve suggested cooking two here and saving the second hock, along with all the liquor, to make a soup later in the week: just add cooked barley or bulgar and any seasonal veg to the hot stock, and stir in shredded ham towards the end. If you want to make the sandwiches alone, just cook one hock and halve the quantities of the braising ingredients, adding enough water to cover. One hock is enough to make four large sandwiches.
For the hocks For the sandwich 100g mature cheddar, sliced Put the hocks in a very large pot, cover with plenty of cold water and bring to a boil. Boil for two minutes, then strain and discard the liquid. Run the hocks under cold water, to rinse off any impurities.
2 cured ham hocks (about 1.4kg each)
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
3 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
3 large celery stalks, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed with the flat of a knife
4 bay leaves
40g parsley and 10g thyme, tied together with a string
¼ tsp black peppercorns
1 litre cider
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp sunflower oil
12 slices smoked bacon
120g mayonnaise
3 tbsp homemade (or shop-bought) wholegrain mustard
8 very large slices sourdough, toasted if you like
½ iceberg lettuce, leaves separated
120g shop-bought tomato relish
Wipe clean the pot, add the hocks and all the braising ingredients, cover with water (you’ll need about two and a half litres for two hocks) and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-high – you want a steady but soft boil – and cook for two and a half hours, uncovered, adding more water as needed to keep the hocks submerged. Remove from the heat, set aside to cool, then lift the hocks out of the liquid (save this as a base for soups or sauces; it freezes well, too). Remove and discard the skin and fat from the hocks, shred the meat and set aside. Put a large frying pan on a medium-high heat and add the oil. Once hot, add half the bacon and fry for three to four minutes, turning once halfway through, until crisp. Remove and set aside on a plate lined with kitchen paper while you fry the rest of the bacon. To make the sandwiches, mix the mayo and mustard in a small bowl and spread this over one side of each piece of bread. Lay four slices of bread mustard sauce side up, cover with half the lettuce, followed by the bacon, relish, ham and cheese. Top with the remaining lettuce, lay the remaining slices of bread on top, sauce side down. Cut in half and serve. • Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghi and Nopi in London. Follow Yotam on Twitter.
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