Black pudding is not for everyone but I think it’s absolutely delicious. I can understand, that if you are a vegetarian, the idea of consuming pigs blood is just revolting – even a little demonic – but as a meat eater I think it’s best to use the whole of the animal.
Usually made from a blend of onions, pork fat, oatmeal, herbs and of course blood; this ancient food can add incredible flavour to a variety of dishes – similar to chorizo in that way.
On my recent trip to The Port House at the weekend, I felt inspired by their Chickpeas with black pudding, spinach and pine nuts and decided to add some to my Spanish stew. The pudding gave the dish an added depth of flavour and brought the dish to life.
There are loads of dishes with black pudding in them; some surprising ones too. Not only popular in Spain, Portugal and France but it’s also served up in South America and even the Caribbean. Here are a couple of recipes that caught my eye.
Seared scallops with black pudding and celeriac puree
Recipe by Simon Rimmer From his book ‘Something for the Weekend’
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- Knob of butter, to fry
- 4 pieces black pudding, cut into rounds the same size as the scallops
- 8 scallops, roe removed
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Dash olive oil
For the celeriac purée
- 150g Celeriac, peeled and cubed
- 200ml chicken stock
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 75g butter
- 225g Bramley apples, peeled and cubed
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
- For the seared scallops with black pudding, melt the butter in a frying pan and then add the black pudding to the pan. Fry on both sides until crisp, then transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper and keep warm.
- Season the scallops with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat the pan used to cook the black pudding until smoking, rub the scallops with olive oil and fry in the pan for one minute on each side. Pat the scallops dry on kitchen paper.
- For the celeriac purée, place the celeriac into a pan with the chicken stock and curry powder. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until soft. Drain the celeriac. Keep warm.
- Heat the butter in a pan and add the apple. Fry the apple in the butter for five minutes, or until soft, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Place the celeriac and apple into a blender and blend to a purée. Fill a piping bag with the mixture (the piping is optional – alternatively you can spoon the purée onto the plate).
- To serve, place a piece of black pudding in the centre of each serving plate with a scallop on each side. Pipe or spoon a little of the purée in between.
Lamb, black pudding & mustard hotpot
Recipe from Good Food magazine
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp groundnut or sunflower oil (or dripping)
- 2 large onions, thinly sliced
- 350g black pudding , thickly sliced
- 8 lamb chops (middle neck cutlets), excess fat trimmed
- 900g potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
- 3 carrots, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp grainy mustard
- 20g pack parsley, finely chopped
- 6 sprigs of thyme , leaves only
- 700ml hot lamb or beef stock or a mixture of stock and water
- knob of butter, melted
Instructions:
- Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/ gas 4. Heat half the oil in a frying pan and cook the onions for 5 minutes until they are soft and just starting to turn golden. Remove and set aside. Pour the remaining oil into the pan and fry the black pudding for about 1 min on each side. Remove, drain on kitchen paper and set aside.
- Cook the chops in the pan on a high heat so you get a good colour on the outside, but they’re not cooked, then drain off the fat. Set the chops aside.
- Layer the ingredients in a deep ovenproof casserole, which holds everything snugly, starting with some potatoes and carrots and dotting half the mustard over each layer of black pudding. Season as you build up the layers and sprinkle the herbs throughout. You should have two layers of chops and finish with overlapping potato slices.
- Pour the hot stock over everything, then brush the top with the melted butter. Cover and bake for 2 hrs, until everything is tender, removing the lid for the last half hour to crisp up the potatoes.