And the continuing adventures of British Regional Cuisine rolls on. We’ve tried Scouse from the Liverpool region. We’ve had a go at Cornish Pasties from…Cornwall. And we’ve done a load of other dishes but I can’t remember what or where they come from.
Today we’ll go for a dish from the flatlands. That’s the bit of England that CNN thought London was situated in. Norfolk is full of fields and farming and so on. And it’s where this week’s creation originates from. Personally I have some doubts. I mean basically Norfolk Plough Pudding is Steak and Kidney Pudding with pork instead of beef.
But who cares, it gives me an excuse to cook something utterly delicious and totally bad.
To create Norfolk Plough Pudding you will need:
- 225g/2 ½ scant cups self raising flour
- Pinch of salt
- 85g ¾ cup shredded vegetable suet
- 400g /3 cups pork sausage meat
- 8 rashers streaky bacon, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 8 fresh sage leaves, chopped
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 75 ml/scant ½ cup vegetable stock
First mix the meat in a bowl with chopped onion:
Add the sage and sugar and leave to one side. Now make the pastry. Mix the flour, suet, salt and water to form a dough. Then roll out two thirds:
Press into a pudding basin which you have already buttered:
Add the filling and pour in some stock:
Roll out the remaining pastry to fit the top and trim:
Cut out a circle of baking paper and place over the top with a fold in it to allow for expansion (and there will be expansion!):
Now put a big bit of foil over the top with another fold and tie with string. Place in a big pan on a plate with boiling water that comes up about halfway on the basin. Simmer covered for a couple of hours:
See that sucker expand!
Meanwhile, because you have created much too much filling, grab some ready rolled pastry and create a couple of standard pies. Filling first:
And the wine starts to flow…
Now top with the pastry and brush with beaten egg:
Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown:
Serve up with some gravy created from the juices (I think we added some flour and cider vinegar):
Anyway back to the main event. The Plough Pudding. Why is it called that? Because farmers ate it in the fields for lunch (like tin miners used to eat pasties down the mine apparently). Anyway here goes:
Looking okay so far…
Its held together and tasted amazing (apparently):
So if you are a hardy farm labourer then this is a dish to sustain. If, however, you are desk-bound office worker who doesn’t have a gym subscription better stick to the bulgar wheat salad and cherry tomatoes.
Ha! I knew there was a reason to be a plough man
Neve rheard of this one before though, now I’m wondering what will be next on your culinary tour !
See thats what you should be eating out there in that allotment.
Does anyone know if you can find vegetable suet in the U.S.?
Thats a good question – i reckon it exists but you call it something completely different
Wow! That’ll get you through a day of plowing. Looks delcious; just check your cholesterol at the door.
Is interesting to see these hearty dishes created to sustain farmers and labourers. I’m sure this would taste great, but my, it sounds rich! I’m enjoying your regional cooking tour. Have you ever made posset? I just heard of it two weeks ago, and made a lemon posset – very tasty (but rich, too). See how you’re encouraging English cooking around the world!
No I looked that up it sounds v old school. I’m trying to decide on the next stop. Somehwere in Scotland i think
Oh yummy!! Pork sausage and bacon in a pie sounds fit for a king, much less a plough-er.
I know its a bit pig-centric
Looks truly delicious and a complete meal in itself. All you need to go with it is a pile of beetroot tops! Wonderful recipe.
Beetroot – that would add a certain amount of wholesomeness
Hot beetroot is nice, eaten as a vegetable, boiled for 40 minutes. I like that.
Sounds interesting and looks very enticing
I wouldn’t know – I abstained
No bulgar wheat salad & tomatoes for me – I’ll take this one. It looks great & I see you’re using your able assistant again. Chef in training?
Yes they are getting into the cooking thing!
Never heard of that one before.
Neither had I – I think they make these things up
That would explain a lot
LOL, as my children say. I love the way you made far too much filling. When I do that kind of stuff, I end up with it residing, like a guilt, in the fridge until I shamefully throw it out.
Best,
Conor
Our fridge is piled high with little pots of stuff that sit there for a week and don’t get thrown out till the next Big Shop
That looks amazing! And I love the somewhat incongruous combination of vegetable suet, pork sausage, and bacon fat
Agreed why did the recipe use vegetable suet? Whats the point?
Well . . . maybe it makes it healthier?
Sometimes when I see recipes like that I wonder if the person just ran out of real fats . . .
And I forgot to mention how amazing this looks. I’m makin chicken pot pie for our dinner this evening. (I think I would be content eating just the butter pastry on top)
I know I didnt even eat this one!
What is vegetable suet? Suet is cow fat where I grew up.
You know I’m not sure – its a veggie option which seams pointless in this recipe!