Black Puddings

[Keith at Tregenna]

Quick note: Please look under poetry section for many and most recent:


Black pudding tower

Ingredients

300 g black pudding sliced into 4 2 cm slices
5 large field mushrooms
4 large, very fresh eggs
100 g thick bacon cut into chunky lardons
2 thick slices of fresh white bread or 4 white muffins
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Oil
Parsley to garnish

A tribute to Lancashire and the perfect late morning brunch after a night on the tiles!

You need to use fresh eggs for poaching, ideally only a few days old.

An easy way to poach eggs is to allow them to simmer for one minute, then cover the pan and leave the eggs for ten minutes to finish cooking.

The eggs should be served as soon as they are cooked. The eggs, black pudding and bacon all need around 10 minutes cooking so start them together. While they are cooking you can prepare the mushrooms and bread so everything is ready to assemble.

Method

Heat the oven to 230 degrees (gas mark 8), heat a baking tray and add a film of olive oil, place the slices of black pudding on the tray and cook for 6 - 8 minutes until crisp on the outside and soft inside
Meanwhile boil a large pan of water, when it is boiling add the wine vinegar, stir the water and gently drop the eggs into the centre of the pan (the eggs will then cook in a neat round), poach the eggs
Remove the stalks from the mushrooms, chop the stalks, a whole mushroom and fry with the bacon until cooked, keep warm and set aside

While the eggs, bacon and black pudding are cooking you can cook the mushrooms and bread
Cook the field mushrooms face down (so the cap curves upwards)

Cut circles about the same size as the mushrooms out of the bread and either fry or toast (they taste best fried)

An easy alternative is to use white muffins, in which they should be toasted
If necessary reheat the bacon and mushrooms

Make a tower - start with the bread, then the field mushroom, black pudding and top with a poached egg
Scatter the bacon and chopped mushrooms over the dish, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Mmmmmmmmmmm ! ! !

K.

[happy daze john in oz]

We do not get much black pudding here in Oz, there are a few places that sell it but that often means a long journey. Sunday on my travels back from a costal spot we went into a supermarket to get a bottle of soft drink. While looking for it I noticed some balck pudding in the deli. Last night we had it with our evening meal. Well I have to tell you there are black puddings, and there are balck puddings, then there was this black pudding. And may i say I think maybe that is just what it was a blacks pudding. I am sure who ever made it used well seasoned sawdust as it set like a rock. Ended up throwing half of it out for the birds, even they would not touch it.
So I may just have to take the edvice of Mortnj and go down to Frankston and get some good stuff.

[wilky]

Not been on the site for a few weeks , your black pudding tower sounds good Keith , will have to give it a go seeing as Ive restocked my freezer from Bury market

[Keith at Tregenna]

Guess there must be a few Christmas Black Pudding recipes out there somewhere ?

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Among the sweet skin puddings was the hack pudding of the Lake Counties, a sweet haggis traditionally eaten on Christmas morning. This spicy concoction of minced beef, dried fruit, sugar and oats was probably the original Christmas Pudding.

K.

[Keith at Tregenna]

Black pudding with parsnip mash

The combination of a rich blood sausage such as black pudding or boudin noir with sweetly nutty parsnip and apple mash is a delight. Or use your favourite spicy sausages, eg chorizo or merguez. Add some simmered red cabbage to make a heartier meal.

Ingredients
Feeds 4. Takes 30 mins.

500g black pudding
1tbsp butter
1tbsp olive or vegetable oil
Few parsley sprigs

FOR THE MASH

4 medium parsnips, around 800g
1 cooking apple
1tbsp butter
1tsp Dijon mustard
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3tbsp milk

To make the mash, peel the parsnips and slice, cutting out any woody core. Peel, quarter and core the apple, and roughly chop. Cook the parsnip and apple in simmering salted water for 20 minutes or until tender.

Drain well and mash, adding the butter, mustard and generous amounts of sea salt and pepper. Add the milk, beating with a wooden spoon until you have a smooth, creamy purée. For a very fine purée, whizz the lot in a food processor.

To cook the sausage, slice it thickly. Melt the butter and oil in a frying pan and sizzle the sausages for about three minutes on either side.

Place a big dollop of mash on each plate and arrange the sizzled blood pudding on top. Tuck in a sprig of parsley and add a blob of Dijon mustard.

[Davygross]

Hi Wilky
I'm a lover of the black pudd myself, and when you live in Sscotland , the black pudding supper is standard fare after a drink. Within the last three months I have discovered (and become addicted to) one of the finest! Can I introduce you to Charles MaCleods award winning Stornoway black pudd. Google it and get a list of retail outlets, or have it posted direct, I'm sure a connosoor like yourself wont be disappointed
Cheers Davygross

[wilky]

cheers davygross will give it a try.

[Keith at Tregenna]

May 1st is... Black Pudding Day

At least that is in Poland:

Should we adopt this day or continue to eat the Black Stuff,
whenever we can - etc.

Maybe those that post here can celebrate with a big Brekkie on:

May 1st.

http://www.polishcuisine.ehost.pl/My...es/Page14.html

Cheers,

Keith.

[Keith at Tregenna]

Via all opinion not recieved and international non vote, zero response from Brussels etc. can now declare that May 1st is... Offiicialiy Black Pudding day. With outstanding response from no-one and staying democratic, my vote equals one yours zero, you lost, motion carried.

Thats the way of the EEC, Black Pud Mountain in a cafe near you soon.

Any non votes by text only, charged at £1000.00 per minute. All charges registered after yesterday incur penalties of much miore. Thats modern politics, suffer fool. No VAT ON BLACK PUD AND FREE BEER TOMMOROW. TOMMOROW NEVER COMES.......................

[Keith at Tregenna]

Considered ban may be enforced, Black Pudding banned to the smoking garden ?

Entire BP lovers move to OZ and NZ etc for Barbi BP, or stay and fight for the black stuff internal.

Watch this space...............