Mark Hix recipe: Bath chaps with winter remoulade

Serves 4-6

Bath chaps were once a popular local favourite but are now are in short supply (Jason Lowe)

Why is it so difficult getting hold of Bath chaps? I'm not talking about blokes from Bath here, but the cured and cooked pork cheeks that were once a popular local favourite, though now are in somewhat short supply.

A few weeks back, I was involved in hosting a bread workshop at the Bertinet Kitchen cookery school in Bath and thought it a good idea to get my hands on some chaps for this column. After calling the best butchers in town and failing on all counts, I decided to pop into the indoor market where I remember seeing them some 10 years or so ago – and there they were on the deli counter in among the olives and samosas.

If, like me, you can't find Bath chaps most of the time, you can also use a cooked ham hock for this dish. Alternatively, perhaps try to persuade your butcher to brine some pig's cheeks, which can then be boiled like you would with a ham hock.

2 Bath chaps or cooked pig's cheeks, chilled

For the winter remoulade

1 medium carrot, trimmed, peeled and finely shredded or grated
1 small red onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
1 small turnip, peeled and finely shredded or grated
A piece of celeriac weighing about 150g, peeled and finely shredded or grated
2tsp Dijon mustard
2tsp grain mustard
2-3tbsp good-quality mayonnaise
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

First, make the remoulade: mix the mustard and mayonnaise together then mix with the vegetables and season to taste.

Next, cut the Bath chaps into slices and arrange on serving plates. Finally, spoon the remoulade on top or to the side.