Saturday supper: black pudding with buttered cabbage

 1 pack of new potatoes

1 white cabbage

1 good quality Irish black pudding

Frozen peas

Vegetable stock

Okay so I know some people are repulsed by it, but here in Ireland they do the best black pudding ever.  If you hate the idea of the stuff, do me a favour and just try it before you totally write it off.  It’s lovely stuff.  Otherwise replace it in this recipe with some fat good quality herby sausages, sliced thickly at an angle. 

So get some new potatoes on to boil in some salted water.  I cut them in quarters so they cook quickly.  In another pan, put just an inch or so of water in the bottom and add a slug of liquid stock or a vegetable stock cube (or use home made vegetable stock if you’re a real smarty pants), along with some salt and pepper.  Sling in a couple of handfuls of frozen peas and let it come up to the boil. 

When your potatoes are nearly done, slice your beautiful black pudding into big fat circles and lay them on a baking sheet under the grill.  They should only take four or five minutes to cook, depending on the size of the pud.  Shred your cabbage and add it to the boiling stock and peas with a big knob of butter, then put a lid on for five or ten minutes until it’s tender.

Serve the new potatoes, peas and cabbage in a big, gorgeous pile with the slices of pudding on top.  If you reserve the cabbagey stock, reduce it a bit and whisk in a bit of cream it makes quite a nice light sauce.  I’m not allowed to do this as Hubby doesn’t ‘do’ creamy sauces.  But if you’re in the mood, a nice runny poached egg on top definitely hits the spot.  Oh, and just an aside: this is such a surprisingly nice supper that even my picky eater, #2, woofed this down, cabbage and all.

6 Responses to “Saturday supper: black pudding with buttered cabbage”

1. Queen of Clean says:

   February 9, 2008 at 9:10 pm

   My kids eat black pudding…and they know whats in it! Well the eldest two do, and the five year old is turning into ‘binonlegs’ so it won’t be long before he’s into the bloody stuff…geddit?

   Anyway, the egg is a must, I like finding ‘real’ recipes, one’s that ‘real’ people (you are real aren’t you?) actually make. It sounds lovely, let you know how I get on, and if they eat it.
2. june in florida says:

   February 9, 2008 at 10:50 pm

   Grew up in Oxford so your making me homesick and very hungry.
3. englishmuminireland says:

   February 10, 2008 at 9:41 am

   Queeny: Oh yes, I’m definitely real (no pinching now, it hurts). Ooh it was yummy. We all had seconds x

   June: Really? Blimey you’re making me homesick now too… xxx
4. thriftcriminal says:

   February 10, 2008 at 9:35 pm

   Mmmmm. Sounds good. On one of those occasions when I looked into the fridge to see what I could use I resorted to black pud, fried mushrooms and onions, stir in pasta sauce. All cooked up and chucked over some spag, bloody good Black pud is the business. White pud is good in a toasted cheese sambo with ketchup too (but fry it first).
5. SUSAN B says:

   February 10, 2008 at 11:47 pm

   Well, here’s another “dumb Yank” question! What IS black pudding – oh, and white pudding too?!
6. englishmuminireland says:

   February 11, 2008 at 9:37 am

   Thrifty: Ooh that sounds gorgeous. Matthew Fort does a pan fried pigeon with white and black pudding. Bet it’s just as nice with chicken though.

   Susan: Okay brace yourself. Black pudding is basically a sausage but it’s kind of made mostly with blood. White pudding is similar, but it’s even more like normal sausage as it doesn’t contain the blood. You get it in big fat sausages, cut off slices and fry or grill them. It sounds yucky but it’s gorgeous x