Thinking about good wholesome food and my recent visit to England gave me the inspiration for a dessert to make for our friends last Saturday night. The weather was predicted to be wet and cold, definitely a time to bring out a great steamed pudding to warm the body and soul.
I kept weird hours during my first week home. I would 'drop like a stone' into bed at 7pm and then be awake at four in the morning ready to start the day. So it was that I found myself cooking in my nightie and slippers at 4.30am last Saturday morning.
I remembered a pudding called Spotted Dick. I had never made one. Two of my guests were originally from England (and one male guest just adores puddings) so I decided it would be perfect to make for dessert.
My research on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_dick offered an explanation to the name of the pudding. It is surely an old English favourite!
I found my recipe in Jamie Oliver's Chef 2 book - 'My Mum's Spottier Dick'. Although it is extremely easy to make, I had a small challenge, as my copy of the recipe's metric conversions were all over the place. I have altered the recipe to what I considered the correct measurements and it was perfect. Trust me - this is a completely addictive pudding! And absolutely delicious with warm runny vanilla custard and a drizzle of cream.
A kitchen hint not included in Jamie's recipe - I used my mothers tip and put an enamel plate in the bottom of the boiling pan, then placed the pudding bowl into it - it stops the bottom getting overcooked or burnt (which ends up being the top of the pudding if you know what I mean). Also, my kitchen assistant had no luck finding suet in the supermarket so I replaced it with butter. I will make it with suet next time, will just have to search further afield to find some.
On the day you make it you probably need to plan to keep the morning or afternoon aside as you need to keep an eye on your boiling pot and make sure it is kept topped up with hot water while the pudding is cooking for three hours.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
The recipe is super for a crowd, Jamie states 6 servings but I would say at least 12 reasonable servings.
I kept weird hours during my first week home. I would 'drop like a stone' into bed at 7pm and then be awake at four in the morning ready to start the day. So it was that I found myself cooking in my nightie and slippers at 4.30am last Saturday morning.
I remembered a pudding called Spotted Dick. I had never made one. Two of my guests were originally from England (and one male guest just adores puddings) so I decided it would be perfect to make for dessert.
My research on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_dick offered an explanation to the name of the pudding. It is surely an old English favourite!
I found my recipe in Jamie Oliver's Chef 2 book - 'My Mum's Spottier Dick'. Although it is extremely easy to make, I had a small challenge, as my copy of the recipe's metric conversions were all over the place. I have altered the recipe to what I considered the correct measurements and it was perfect. Trust me - this is a completely addictive pudding! And absolutely delicious with warm runny vanilla custard and a drizzle of cream.
A kitchen hint not included in Jamie's recipe - I used my mothers tip and put an enamel plate in the bottom of the boiling pan, then placed the pudding bowl into it - it stops the bottom getting overcooked or burnt (which ends up being the top of the pudding if you know what I mean). Also, my kitchen assistant had no luck finding suet in the supermarket so I replaced it with butter. I will make it with suet next time, will just have to search further afield to find some.
On the day you make it you probably need to plan to keep the morning or afternoon aside as you need to keep an eye on your boiling pot and make sure it is kept topped up with hot water while the pudding is cooking for three hours.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
The recipe is super for a crowd, Jamie states 6 servings but I would say at least 12 reasonable servings.
My Mum’s Spottier Dick -
from Jamie Oliver Chef 2
Ingredients
125g suet
(or butter) grated
140g dried
chopped apricots
225g raisins
or sultanas
1 orange
(zested)
140g plain
flour
140g sugar
140g fresh
breadcrumbs
2tbsp fresh
grated ginger ( I used 1 tbsp syrup from a jar of preserved ginger)
Pinch grated
nutmeg
Pinch salt
1 egg beaten
500ml milk
Method
Grease (really well)
a 1 litre pudding basin.
Mix all the
ingredients together, except the egg and milk. Add the beaten egg with milk and
mix well. (I used my kitchen whizz to mix the butter with the flour then put
the mixture into a large bowl, added the fruit etc and then the egg/milk
mixture).
Put the
mixture in the basin, cover well with tinfoil or a cloth (used about 4 layers
of tinfoil – adding a pleat at the top to allow for the pudding to rise). Tie a
piece of string around the bowl for easy placement and removal. Put the basin in a large pan of boiling water
– the water should be about half way up the sides of the basin. Put on a tight
fitting lid and simmer for 3 hours, making sure to top up with boiling water
every now and then.
Serves 6
 |
| Next day, left overs ready to be warmed through, yum! |
2 comments:
yum, love the photo too
Plenty of suet over here K, come and make us some please xx
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