This is a lovely dish, old-fashioned and what I call “great-grandmotherly.” I sometimes find white sauces a bit heavy, so I have lightened this one by using half vegetable stock to milk. The sauce is worth seasoning generously, with salt, pepper, grainy mustard, bay leaves, and a (mild) grating of nutmeg. I leave the bay in even when the sauce is finished and poured over the onions. It adds much in the way of subtle flavor. Should you not fancy grilled ham, then I would still urge you to make the onions—they would be good even on their own, perhaps with a mound of buttery mashed potato or, better still, golden rutabaga with lots of butter and pepper.

　　

Ingredients

serves 2, with second helpings of onions

　　medium onions – 6

　　butter – a thick slice

　　all-purpose flour – a heaping tablespoon

　　vegetable stock (see above) – 1 cup (250ml), hot

　　milk – 1 cup (250ml), hot

　　bay leaves – 3

　　nutmeg

　　whole-grain mustard – 2 teaspoons

　　parsley leaves – a small handful

　　a little oil

　　ham steaks – 2, about 5 to 6 ounces (150 to 175g) each

　　dried oregano

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Bring a deep pan of water to a boil. Peel the onions, add them to the pan, then decrease the heat and let them simmer until they are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. This will only be a matter of twenty to twenty-five minutes or so. Drain them and discard the water (don’t try using it in the sauce, the flavor can be too strong).

　　

Step 2

Put the pan back on the stove, melt the butter in it, and stir in the flour, keeping the heat low to medium. Let the flour and butter cook for a couple of minutes, stirring often so the mixture doesn’t burn, then increase the heat, pour in the stock and milk, and whisk together for a minute until there are no lumps.

　　

Step 3

Season the sauce with salt and black pepper, the bay leaves, a gentle grating of nutmeg, and the mustard. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of these seasonings: they add depth and savor to the sauce and make the whole dish “work.” Let the sauce simmer gently for a good ten minutes or more, stirring regularly so that it does not catch on the bottom.

　　

Step 4

Cut the onions in half from stem to tip—take care, they are slippery—and place them, flat side down, in a shallow baking dish. I use an oval enameled gratin dish. Chop the parsley, but not too finely, and stir it into the sauce, then scoop the lot over the onions. Their caps will probably be poking out, but no matter, just bake for forty to forty-five minutes until the sauce is bubbling.

　　

Step 5

Turn off the heat, but leave the onions in the oven while you cook the ham. If your broiler is, like mine, in the oven, then move the onions to the bottom and put the broiler pan two-thirds of the way up, so that it blocks the onions from the broiler (if you prefer, you can cook the ham on a stovetop grill).

　　

Step 6

Oil the steaks lightly and season them with pepper, a very little salt, and a light sprinkling of oregano. Now broil them for three or four minutes on each side, until golden. Serve the broiled ham with the baked onions and heir sauce.

　　Tender