The classic spring choice is, of course, lamb.

Quite right too, but you can't eat lamb to the exclusion of everything else and, anyway, it's time to move on from all those roasts.

So, to keep the chill at bay on early May's less benign evenings, I often turn to gammon.

For some reason this succulent and profoundly edible cure of pork seems to get neglected these days, and that's a shame.

For a restorative supper, bake it, cut generous slices and inhale the fragrant steam from a coating of thyme, garlic and lemon.

Should there be any leftovers, they will make fine sandwiches for a sunny lunch out in the garden.

Try dishing up the baked gammon recipe below with a fluffy mound of mashed King Edwards spiked with grainy mustard.

A vivid, squeaky-leaved cabbage fresh from the market, sliced and cooked lightly with juniper and garlic also makes an excellent accompaniment, and you could finish things off with some sweet, crunchy organic carrots.

You know, the old-fashioned kind, sold from a sack with plenty of muck still on them.

Ingrediants...

1.2-1.5kg boneless gammon

2 sprigs of thyme Zest of a small unwaxed lemon (preferably organic)

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 tbspn olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation....

1 Place the gammon in a large saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil.

Remove from the heat, tip the water away and let the gammon steam dry for a few minutes to get rid of any excess saltiness.

2 Heat the oven to 160 degrees C/325 degrees F/Gas Mark 3, parcel the meat up in foil, leaving room for the air to circulate, and place it on the middle shelf in a roasting tin.

Allow 30 minutes per 500g.

3 Make up the rub by mixing the crushed garlic, lemon zest and the bruised leaves stripped from the sprigs of thyme in olive oil.

Finish with a few grinds of black pepper, but don't add salt.

4. Thirty minutes before the end of cooking, remove from the oven, open the foil, and using a sharp knife carefully remove the skin and excess fat.

Leave a layer no more than 1cm (in) thick.

If you like, you can score a diamond pattern into the remaining fat, but be careful not to cut into the meat below.

5 Work the herb and lemon rub into the fat side of the gammon, using the flat of a knife if it's too hot to handle comfortably.

6 Return to the oven and finish cooking, basting from the tin if it looks at all dry.

7 When the meat is cooked, wrap it back up in its foil and leave to stand for about 30 minutes to relax and re-absorb moisture.