Little Foodies Britain

So many people think pease pudding is revolting. As a child I would have agreed. I still ate it though. There was no fussing about food when I was growing up. You ate what you were given. This was an unspoken rule, it was never enforced heavily, it's just what happened. Give me pease pudding now and I love it! I don't have it that often admittedly and I prefer it when I'm actually in the North East. It always seems to taste better. I particularly love a ham and pease pudding stottie. A stottie being a soft white bread bap. If you find yourself in the North East of England anytime you should try it. Pease Pudding certainly doesn't look appetising but boy it's good. It even has it's own little rhyme.

Pease pudding hot, Pease pudding cold,
Pease pudding in the pot, Nine days old,
Some like it hot, Some like it cold,
Some like it in the pot, Nine days old.

I think it is better cooked with a ham, preferably on the bone but you can always do it without the ham, making it suitable for vegetarians. In which case I'd cook it with an onion.

Ham and Pease Pudding
One ham joint, approx 1 kilo in weight (This doesn't really matter, if it's on the bone it will probably weigh more. I used a boneless joint this time.)
500g packet of yellow split peas (this is just over 1lb in weight)
31/2 pints / 2 litres of boiling hot water
a sprinkle of pepper

Put the ham in a large heavy bottom pan and cover with water. Put on a high heat and let it come to the boil. Boil it for approx. 10 minutes then pour the water away. Add the split peas to the pan along with pepper, cover with 31/2 pints of boiling hot water. Bring to the boil, then let it simmer gently for approximately 1 1/2 hours. Regularly skim the top of any frothy scum that appears. After the 1 1/2 hours take the ham out (so long as it's cooked enough for the size). Put the pan back on the heat and check the consistency, it should be like thick soup at this stage. Simmer for a further half an hour but keep an eye on it as it may start to dry out too much in which case it will start catching/burning on the bottom of the pan. If this happens add a tiny bit more water, just enough to stop it from catching.. After 2 hours it should be ready to take off the heat and let it cool down. It will set harder once it cools down, so bear this in mind.

Edit: I took off some of the liquid after an hour when I made this to make some soup and therefore it took less time to cook. I could see that the split peas where going to be mushy enough without the full two hours. I was able to go on instinct, I guess from years of watching it being made as a child.

It is superb when it's freshly cooked, hot from the pan smeared on top of really fresh bread with butter on. It's also really good on a plate, alongside a few slices of the ham it was cooked with and some hot potatoes. Best of all eaten cold in a sandwich with slices of the ham.

It also makes really good soup if you take a couple of cups of the cooked pease pudding and add 2 pints of good stock, one chopped onion, some chopped root vegetables and potatoes, a few bits of the ham, finely chopped. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 15-20 minutes and you have one very tasty soup.


Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes (This made 24 mini cupcakes and 12 normal size cupcakes).
200g / 7oz self raising flour
175g / 6oz unsalted butter (room temp)
175g / 6oz sugar
3 eggs medium size (room temp)
Zest (finely grated peel) and juice of one lemon
A few tablespoons of milk may be needed to loosen the mixture.

Cream the sugar and butter together, add the eggs and mix well. Fold in the flour (sieved) then add the juice and rind of one lemon. If the mixture is too thick add a little milk at a time to loosen it. Spoon into cupcake holders and bake in a preheated oven (175C/gas mark 3 ) for approximately 12-15 minutes. Take them out of the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes, then drizzle with the icing and allow to cool.

For the lemon icing. 1 and a half cups of icing sugar, zest and juice of one lemon. You may need more lemon juice or use a few drops of warm water. This made far too much icing but it was so delicious we allowed ourselves to spoon more on each time we ate them!!

Ginger Flapjacks
1lb / 450g rolled oats
101/2 oz / 300g butter
3oz / 75g soft brown sugar
2oz / 50g golden syrup
Half a jar of ginger conserve

Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the ginger conserve and mix then add the oats and mix well. Pour the mixture into an ovenproof pan, lined with greaseproof paper (mine is approx 9 x 11 inches) and press down with the back of a wooden spoon. Bake in a pre-heated oven (190C / gas mark 5) for approximately 30 minutes. Take out and leave to cool for 15 minutes before cutting into pieces. Store in an airtight container for a few days if you can get them to last that long.

Little's verdict of pease pudding - NO THANK YOU but can I have some more ham, that's really good! Small's verdict of pease pudding - Mmmm delicious! But on hearing Little's protests he decided he didn't like it either. Harsh glares at Little - he knows the rules!