Pudding Basins,
Day Fifteen on the Advent Calendar
and
Steak and Kidney Pudding
with Mushrooms
15th December
2011
Window number fifteen is
Traditional Pudding Basins
The weather has been utterly foul lately, torrential rain along with gale force winds have wreaked havoc in my garden and have frightened the living daylights out of my poor wee hens…..I am amazed that they are still laying. As I made my way across the leaf littered grass this morning, trying to dodge flying pine cones missiles, one of my collared doves was literally blown out of the apple tree and landed in a feathery heap in front of me…….after battling my way back to the kitchen, I looked at myself in the mirror to be confronted with a female version of Worzel Gummidge on a REALLY bad hair day…….I noticed several leaves sticking out of my dressing gown and my pyjama bottoms were sticking to my legs in the manner of a wet tee-shirt competition; it’s no good, I really MUST try to get dressed before my early morning trip to liberate my Coronation chickens.
The recent weather really is an indicator for preparing big comfort food meals in the winter kitchen, and what better than a good old fashioned steamed pud; a savoury pudding with a light suet crust and meltingly tender meat……a pudding to woo wily men and melt the hardest of hearts, as well as being my dad’s favourite meal, a steamed Steak and Kidney Pudding. Only one teensy weeny little problem, I am not a huge kidney fan, in fact I am not keen at all…….so, I made this classic pudding with kidneys on one half and mushrooms (for me) on the other half! It worked like a dream and after the first slice I was able to ascertain which half was which……much to the mirth and merriment of my husband, although I did have to extricate the odd sliver of kidney now and then.
I served this pudding with steamed potatoes, savoy cabbage and carrots, along with a jug of beefy gravy ~ it was hearty and hefty, but totally sublime and certainly hit the culinary spot on a blustery winter’s day. I was going to take photos of the plated meal, but greed and hunger meant that the camera was abandoned and all thoughts of attractive blog post photos were dispensed with as we both attacked this meal with gusto……I did feel a pang of guilt as one of my hens was blown across the garden, squawking as she was lifted up by a gust of wind……I carried on with my next forkful though! (Bad chicken mother!) This is a trusty Be-Ro recipe, but the mushrooms are my addition, and need not be added if you are okay with the classic combination of steak and kidney, I’m just an offal wimp.
So here it is, a winter warmer and man pleaser…..a potential proposal in a pudding basin, and a simple savoury dish that is very welcome before we hit the overly rich silly season in ten days time! I’ll be back tomorrow as usual with something else to titillate your taste-buds…….I’m not sure what yet, so tune in to see what I come up with!
Karen
Steak and Kidney Pudding
with Mushrooms
Suet Pastry
| 225 g (8 oz) | Be-Ro Self Raising Flour |
| pinch | salt |
| 100 g (4 oz) | Atora shredded suet |
| cold water to mix |
| 1 | Mix flour, salt and suet, add sufficient cold water to make a pliable dough. |
| 2 | Turn the dough on to a floured board and knead lightly. Allow to rest for a few minutes before rolling out. |
| N.B. Suet Pastry is quick to make and at its best when freshly baked. |
Steak and Kidney Pudding
| 225 g (8 oz) | Be-Ro Suet Pastry |
| FILLING: | |
| 450 g (1 lb) | stewing steak, trimmed |
| 100 g (4 oz) | kidney |
| a little seasoned flour | |
| stock |
| 1 | Line a greased 1.2 litre (2 pint) pudding basin following diagrams given. |
| 2 | Cut up meat and kidney, roll in seasoned flour, place in lined basin and fill full with stock. |
| 3 | Dampen the edge, roll out remaining pastry to fit top, seal edges well. |
| 4 | Cover with greaseproof paper and foil and steam for 4 hours (for tips on steaming see above). (I added chopped fresh mushrooms to one half of the pudding, as discussed in my post, about 50g/2ozs) |
Lining a Pudding Basin
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Hints and Tips for Steaming
| 1 | Fill pudding basins only 3/4 full to allow room for expansion. |
| 2 | Cover puddings with a double layer of greaseproof paper or foil. Fold a pleat in the covering to allow room for the pudding to expand. |
| 3 | Seal the edges well and secure with string making a handle for lifting the basin in and out of the pan. |
| 4 | To prevent your saucepan from discolouring during steaming add a little lemon juice or vinegar to the water. Recipe, Hints and Tips ~ Courtesy of Be-Ro
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Well this man is very pleased. I love a suet pudding. I'm making a veggie one for The Viking for Christmas Day. So special and warming. Lovely post imagining you may blow away!!
I hate kidney. Todd loves it though, but I only ever make him a Steak pudding, because I can't bear kidney at all! If he get's one in this house ever, it has to be store bought! Just thinking about it makes me feel queasy. When I was at culinary college and we were doing steak and kidney pie, our prof told us not to pop any of the blisters on the kidneys as they contained urine. That did it for me.
This pie looks so much better than a shop bought one, must try making some myself but it looks so hard!
Bee happy x
Have a delicious day!
Thanks Dom! I am glad that you are pleased!
Marie ~ you and me both, I am not a lover of offal on the whole!
Bee ~ many thanks! This pudding is heaps better than shop bought!
How utterly British sounding. And consider me wooed, I have to start hunting down a pudding Basin
And keep the hens well covered from those elements!
I love steamed puddings! I've never had kidney (it's not the easiest thing to get here). I do like liver, but I have a feeling it's not quite the same experience. Marie's anecdote has scared me a bit!
Your bad chicken mothering made me laugh!
ooh I don't like kidney either, not many things I don't like but that is definitely one of them! Your pudding looks great, I have that bero book too, must check it out again.
Mushroom is a great substitute idea for kidney – I'll have to bear it in mind, as I'm very much not an offal fan – unless it has been made into haggis or pate – in either case by someone else!
This looks really delicious though. Like a beefy hug on a plate.
Rx
What a gorgeously comforting dish to enjoy after a day of running around a blustery garden with birds falling at your feet! Love kidneys, and would eat this with loads of English mustard!
Definitely a winter warmer. Ive never tried a suet pudding before. I'm not so keen on the kidneys or beef for that matter so often stay clear of these pies/puddings. I'm sure you could make it vegetarian?