This canapé/tapas is the perfect treat for your favourite friends and family. Serving it in a parcel makes it go a bit further, with the mild goats cheese along with the sweetness of the sticky prunes and crunch of the walnut brittle makes this a first class taste sensation that will really wow any crowd.

These walnuts were freshly picked from the local market, perfect for making brittle.

So easy to make, just gently caramalise with a little bit of butter, raw cane sugar and a sprinkle of pink peppercorns for a touch of heat.

Jamón Ibérico de bellota is rightly recognised as one of the finest gourmet delicacies of the charcuterie world and the best way to eat it is freshly carved, wafer thin straight from the leg.

The deep ruby red colour, marbled with rivulets of golden fat is a magical taste sensation – it dissolves in your mouth with a flavour that is unparalleled. Arguably one of greatest foods in the world, it does have a hefty price tag costing up to 250euros a kilo.

Jamón Ibérico belotta comes only from free-range black Iberian pigs, pata negra or black-foot pig, which are found in southern and south western Spain and southern Portugal. Pigs raised for the best jamón Ibérico are “finished” on a diet entirely of acorns which gives the meat a smooth texture, distinctive red colour and rich flavour.

The oleic acid in the acorns on which the pig feed finds its way into the fat of the Jamon – and surprisingly this monounsaturated fatty acid has a beneficial effect on LDL and HDL cholesterol. Spanish locals refer to Iberian pigs as “olives with legs”!

If you cannot buy a Jamon Iberico use a good quality Serrano or Parma ham.

Jamon Iberico parcels

Ingredients

(Makes 12)

100g Jamon Iberico  (or good quality Serrano or Parma ham).

50g ready-to-eat prunes, stoned and chopped

150g mild soft goat cheese

150g cream cheese

2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard

Walnut Brittle

1 tablespoon butter
40g walnuts
40g demarara sugar – or raw cane sugar
½ tablespoon of pink peppercorns (optional)
Large pinch sugar

Method

Break up the goats cheese, remove the hard rind from the top and bottom of the log. Add the cream cheese, chopped prunes and whole grain mustard and mix well, don’t worry if it’s a little bit lumpy.

Lay slices of the jamon onto a clean work surface and place a teaspoon of the goats cheese filling in the middle and roll to form a parcel – I like to form a rose like shape leaving the filling exposed.

Now make the walnut brittle, in a large frying pan melt the butter on medium heat then add the walnuts, peppercorns and sugar. Mix until all the sugar has coated the walnuts. Continue cooking and stirring for 5 minutes on medium-high heat until all sugar has dissolved on walnuts.

Remove the candied walnuts off the heat and pour them onto a sheet of parchment paper and allow to cool and harden for at least 10 minutes and then roughly chop.

Put the Jamon parcels onto a serving platter and sprinkle with the chopped walnuts.