1: This first job is to slow roast the onions whole with the skins on. Pre-heat an oven at 160°C and place the onions into a baking tray and cook until semi-soft, just cooked, it will take about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

2: When cold, gently cut the fuzzy root end off about 1/3rd down the onion. Gently scoop the middles out, leaving about 3 layers of onion to form a hollow onion. You are going to serve the hot cheese sauce in the onion! Place the onions to one side until needed. With a large chef’s knife, chop up the scooped out onion middles quite roughly. In a non-stick pan, add the soft dark brown sugar and the cider vinegar. Place onto a high heat and bring to the boil. Add the grated Bramley apple, mustard seeds and chopped onion. Turn the heat down and cook out until get a tasty chutney. This won’t take too long, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. When cold, you can place into the fridge until needed. It will keep for a week in the fridge and is lush with a big piece of cheddar!

3: To make the batter, crumble the yeast into the flour in a large mixing bowl. Pour on the warmed milk and whisk together. Leave to one side for 1 hour whilst the yeast starts to work and ferment. Cut the whole ham into bite size chunks and dust in a little flour. Place the ham pieces into the batter, a few at a time, and then gently drop into a table top fryer at 180°C and cook for 4-5 minutes until golden and crispy. You may need to do this in a batch or two. Remove from the fryer and drain on kitchen paper and season.

4: In a saucepan, bring the 300ml of white wine to the boil. Turn the heat right down to a simmer and stir in the cheeses and gently melt them. Mix the cornflour and the 3tbsp of water together and add them to the cheese mix and cook for 5 minutes on a low heat until the cheese is completely melted and is thickened. Season with freshly ground pepper and the grated nutmeg and a pinch of salt if needed.

5: Pour the pickle liquor into a bowl. Break down the chicory into leaves and stick them into the pickle mix. Pour the hot cheese sauce into the hollow onions and serve with the ham fritters and onion chutney.

6: On the side, serve the pickled chicory and some radishes with salt, some toasted sour dough or a salad made with bitter leaves like Treviso. Dip the crispy fritters into the hot cheese sauce and dab on a little chutney. OMG…