Which is what prompted our resident creative genius to declare "Black Pudding Friday" instead.
This was a bit of a joke, but it did give us the opportunity to celebrate and showcase small, independent producers of great quality products, who sell at the same price all year round, a fair price that reflects the quality of the ingredients and the value of their labour and who can neither afford the all conquering juggernaut of a multi million pound TV advert, nor want to engage in trivial gimmicks that jar with their ethics and principles.
And, of course, this includes us.
Which means that this post is not accompanied by the soundtrack of a sentimental song, by a much loved pop star.
Just as we use locally sourced components for the cookware, we also love using locally grown or produced ingredients when we are creating our recipes and are blessed with a bountiful supply here in Shropshire. That said, some of our components are from further afield - our beautiful Sussex flax oil for instance - and as every county in the country can now boast a plethora of specialist local producers, we are happy to use the best from around the country.
Please seek out your own local food heroes, Rick Stein and Nadiya Hussain did it on TV, but for the rest of us the best thing to do is just get out there and buy these lovely ingredients.
I spent the day posting pictures of ideas of what to do with black pudding all over our social media platforms, you could almost say I was spamming you....okay, hands up, that joke should not even make it into a Christmas cracker.
Of course, we all know that black pudding has a place in any fry up breakfast and it is fantastic mixed up as a hash with fried potatoes and topped with a fried egg, nor has there yet to be season of Masterchef in which someone doesn't serve up black pudding with scallops, but here are some ideas you may not have tried.
We are very grateful to Shropshire Salumi and The Fruit Pig Company for supplying us with samples of their fantastic products to use in these recipes, as well as the lovely Tracey and Rupert at Bennett and Dunn and the ever awesome and totally bonkers Lajina
Breakfast rolls
per person
2 rashers streaky bacon
20g fresh breadcrumbs
40g unsweetened apple purée
1tsp chopped sage
60g black pudding
Mix the breadcrumbs, apple purée, sage and chopped black pudding
Divide into 2 balls
Roll each ball in a rasher of bacon.
Put in a prospector pan and cook in the oven at 180ºC for approx 20 minutes
Black pudding Yorkies
120g plain flour
2 eggs
200ml milk
4 slices black pudding
First make the batter by combining the flour, eggs and milk, seasoned with salt and pepper, and whisking together to create a smooth mix. Leave to stand for half an hour
Pre heat the oven to 200ºC
Chop the black pudding into chunks and divide between 4 blini pans (or a 10" prospector pan), with a small amount of oil - we use Bennett and Dunn rapeseed oil
Cook in the hot oven for 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven, pour over equal measures of batter mix and return to the oven for 15 - 20 minutes - if you make a large one rather than 4 small ones, it may take a little longer.
Serve with your very best onion gravy
Black burgers
100g black eyed peas, soaked for an hour
250g finely chopped black pudding
1 handful of parsley, finely chopped
1 egg white
Drain the beans and cook in a saucepan full of fresh water until soft - this will vary from batch to batch of beans, mine took 30 minutes this time.
Drain the beans and mash them to a coarse purée with a potato masher or a fork.
Throw in the rest of the ingredients and, with your hands, combine to a coherent mass.
Divide this into 6 equally sized portions and flatten out slightly to create a burger style patty.
Refrigerate for half an hour to firm them up.
Heat a tablespoon of rapeseed oil in a 12" frying pan over a medium heat.
Gently slide the burgers into the pan and cook for around 5 - 6 minutes on each side, until nicely browned and heated through.
Do not be tempted to keep turning and prodding them - they won't cook any quicker and they will fall apart.
Chips and coleslaw are perfect accompaniments.
Black pudding arancini
This is not a full recipe, as it uses up leftovers - if you want a risotto recipe there are already some on here, look one up in one of your recipe books - old school - or just Google one. There's a particularly good cauliflower risotto recipe in Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Italy.
And, after all the Italians have their own version of blood sausage called sanguinaccio.
Mix the cold risotto with as much chopped back pudding as you fancy . Roll into small balls or croquettes anad then roll in breadcrumbs, or, for a real crunch, polenta and deep fry until golden.
Of course, I use our wok for all my deep frying.
Black pudding and spelt
200g spelt grain, soaked overnight
100g Puy lentils
6 sundried tomatoes
1 leek
¼ Savoy cabbage
salt and pepper
1 pack feta cheese, cubed
16 slices black pudding
Bennett and Dunn oak smoked oil or a good, grassy extra virgin olive oil
Drain the spelt and place in a casserole dish with the lentils and sundried tomatoes. Cover with cold water and cook until just starting to soften. There should be very little liquid left in the dish.
Shred the leek and the cabbage and add to the casserole dish. Season well with salt, there should be no need for pepper as the kick will come from your black pudding. Bring back to the boil and then turn off the heat and allow the residual heat to cook the vegetables, while you prepare the black pudding.
Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add the black pudding slices. Fry for 2 - 3 minutes on both sides. You will need to do this in batches, so keep the cooked slices warm in a low oven while you cook the remainder.
Divide the spelt mix between 4 plates, using a slotted spoon to discard any remaining cooking liquor.
Add 2 pieces of black pudding to each plate and scatter over the feta.
Drizzle with oil to finish and serve.
Serves 4
Cauliflower and black pudding
per person
1 cauliflower steak - a thick slice of cauliflower cut across the head of the cauliflower
1 tblsp Bennett and Dunn chaat oil or rapeseed oil with a pinch of ground cumin added
1 slice black pudding
1 dessertspoon Greek yogurt
½ tsp Lajina masala magic or a good curry powder
Put the yogurt and spice in a bowl and suspend over a pan of simmering water to heat through. Mix thoroughly and do not overheat.
Liberally anoint the cauliflower with the oil.
Heat a frying pan or griddle plate over a medium heat and place the cauliflower steak on it.
Cook for 4 minutes, until the underside has taken on a nice char.
Turn over the cauliflower and add the black pudding to the same pan.
After 2 minutes, turn the black pudding over.
After a further 2 minutes, turn off the heat.
Dish the steak and the pudding on to a plate and spoon over the yogurt sauce.
We hope you enjoy these as much as we did and please feel free to send us any recipes you have and any recommendations for great local food producers.
Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2017 ©
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