Ploughing through Pudding

During the Autumn lots of foraging took place in Norfolk, a place I have visited on a semi-regular basis over the years. While I know a fair bit about the nature, its most famous fictional character and its main football team, I realised I knew little about its native cuisine. Further investigations led me to discover something called Norfolk Plough Pudding, this is a savoury pudding made with sausage meat, herbs, onions and streaky bacon. It is traditionally served in January to mark the first spring ploughing. 

During the first weekend after the New Year return to work in January, I got myself into spring mode by sewing some seeds in my conservatory and making my own take on this recipe.  On the player was Joan Armatrading's eponymous third album.  It's well produced and contains, perhaps, her most famous song "Love and Affection".

The ingredients for the filling of this recipe are:

Pinch of Mustard

2 Fresh Sage Leaves.

2 Fresh Sprigs of Rosemary

2 Fresh Sprigs of Thyme.

1 Fresh Parsley Head. 

A teaspoon of White Pepper.

1 White Onion that's topped, tailed, peeled and diced 

2 Tomato Pork Sausages shredded.

1 slice of Corned Beef shredded. 

The ingredients for the Dough go like this:

225 grams of gluten free Self-Raising Flour.

80 grams of suet

10 soup spoons of cold water. 

Method:

1. Fry onions, Pork Sausages, White Pepper and Mustard on a medium heat in a cooking oil of your choice for around 10-15 minutes until the onions are translucent and the Sausage meat is browned slightly. 

2. Add the Herbs and Corned Beef and warm through for another five minutes before taking the filling off the heat and leaving to one side. 

3. Mix the Self Raising Flour and Suet together while gradually adding the cold water. This will create a thick pasty, pastry. Knead it into a wide and flat circle and put it in the refrigerator for around ten minutes. 

4. Take the pastry out of the fridge and put the filling on it in a heap about three inches wide and five inches tall. 

5. Mould the pastry round the filling to cover the filling and create a dome shaped object that's a similar shape to the Death Star or the Technodrome in Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles. 

6. Cook in the Oven on Gas Mark Six for around forty-five minutes. 

I served this meal with a side of homegrown Broccoli and Cabbage. The pastry remained moist throughout the time in the oven while the tomato in the Sausages blended well with the Corned Beef and the herbs and onion provided a bonanza of flavour. 

Before and after cooking