Steamed kid pudding with pear and walnut salad
- Prepare
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Cook
- over 2 hours
- Serve
- Serves 6
This delicious savoury pudding features an underused meat – kid – but if you’d prefer you can use lamb or pork!
Ingredients
For the suet pastry
- 225g/8oz self-raising flour
- 115g/4oz shredded suet
- 1 free-range egg yolk
- 150–175ml/5–6fl oz whole milk
- salt
For the steamed kid pudding
- 1kg/2lb 4oz kid, leg and shoulder meat on the bone, trimmed and chopped into 2cm/¾in pieces, bones reserved (can replace with lamb or pork if preferable)
- 150g/5½oz unsmoked streaky bacon, cut into 2cm/¾in pieces
- sprig fresh thyme
- 4 bay leaves
- 90ml/3fl oz sunflower oil
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 sticks celery, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 500ml/18fl oz red wine
- butter, for greasing
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the pear and walnut salad
- 2–3 ripe pears, cored and thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp very good white vinegar
- 75g/2½oz membrillo, finely chopped
- 100g/3½oz walnuts, roughly chopped
- 20g/¾oz mixed leaves, such as rocket, endive, watercress
- 3 tbsp walnut oil
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
To make the suet pastry, sift the flour into a wide bowl. Add the suet and a pinch of salt.
Beat the egg yolk with the milk, then add to the flour mixture. Mix into a soft dough and cover.
To make the steamed kid pudding, season the kid meat and bacon pieces with salt and black pepper.
Tie the herbs into a small bundle.
Heat half the sunflower oil in a wide heavy-bottomed frying pan over a high heat and fry the kid in small batches until crusted brown all over. Lift the meat from the pan into a colander set over a bowl.
Fry the strips of bacon for 2 minutes or until crisp and then set aside.
Add the rest of the oil, then tip the chopped vegetables into a pan and brown lightly.
Add the herbs, wine and the bones (if using) and season with salt and black pepper.
Top up with water until the braise is just covered, then bring to a simmer and spoon away any foam rising.
Cover the pot and let cook for 1½ hours, until the kid is tender. Remove from the heat and let cool.
Roll out two thirds of the pastry and line a buttered pudding basin, approximately 18–20cmx12–15cm/7¾inx4¾in. Roll out the remaining pastry to just fit on top.
When completely cooled, decant the whole braise into the pastry-lined pudding bowl. Lay the disc of pastry on top and pinch the edges to seal.
Lay a sheet of greaseproof paper over the pastry, then two sheets of foil. Tie this tightly with string.
Sit the pudding on an inverted plate in a lidded pan of simmering water coming two-thirds up the side of the pudding. Seal the pan tightly and let simmer for 2½ hours, checking from time to time if more water is required.
Once done, remove the bowl from the pan. Lift away the foil and greaseproof paper. Tie a napkin round the bowl and take to the table!
To make the pear and walnut salad, toss the pears with the vinegar in a big bowl to prevent discoloration. Scatter over the membrillo and walnuts.
Add the leaves, a little salt and black pepper and the walnut and olive oils. Mix together, taste for seasoning and serve with the kid pudding.
Once the pudding is done, remove the bowl from the saucepan. Lift away the foil and greaseproof paper. Tie a napkin round the bowl and take to the table! Serve the salad on a large platter alongside the pudding
