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Recipes: Black Pudding

Breakfast doesn't look right without it!

Breakfast doesn't look right without it!

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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).
  6. 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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

10 Comments

  1. Black Pudding is good, but have you tried Annascaul WHITE pudding? Yum!

  2. I love black pudding too, but it really depends where you get it! Any tips?

  3. Yum. Pudding (white & black) is one of those things that I rarely think to buy, but decide that I should eat more of every time I have them! Never thought of adding it to a stew, chorizo-style, but it’s definitely something I’ll be investigating.

  4. Many supermarkets have Clonakilty black, it’s very good. Annascaul black is very highly regarded, but it’s difficult to get outside of Kerry.

  5. I don’t know Annascaul but I’ll keep an eye out. I usually buy mine in my local butchers in Wicklow because they make it themselves. There is a butchers on Wexford street opposite Whelan’s that have award winning pudding that they make, it’s very good and the crumbly kind that always tastes better.

  6. Ashe’s in Annascaul make their own black and white pudding. Some other shops stock it – e.g. Super Valu Dingle. If you’re anywhere near, take a detour and GET SOME! While you’re at it, get some of their sausages too. We go there for holidays every year, and come home with a coolbox full of sausages, pudding and Kerry mountain lamb.

  7. I love both black and white pudding, but its important to buy the best as the cheap ones are unbelievably awful. The clonakilty black as mentioned is good and for white I like Rudds.

  8. Clonakilty black pudding is far superior to any other available. Its got the right crumbly texture, and a real depth of taste with the right amount of spices. most supermarkets stock it including Tesco, Dunnes and Superquinn. No contest!

  9. I tasted some black pudding at a Slow Food event this week. It’s not normally my kind of thing but the Inch House Traditional Black Pudding was magnificent. It’s made from fresh local pigs blood (apparently imported, dried blood is often used in lower quality versions) to an old recipe.

    In Dublin it can be found in Mortons.

  10. Rudds Black Pudding is as tasty as I’ve had in a long time, very smooth if thats the right word to use, no bits as such but the taste is fantastic.