We Provice Recipes

I do like a challenge, so when I saw this challenge on the UK Food Bloggers Association, I jumped at the chance to create something different with this delicious pudding. I love Christmas Pudding served in the traditional manner so, of course, I had to have a taste before deciding how to use this pudding to create a dish that was worthy of this delicious pud. The kind people at Matthew Walker provided me with a couple of free puddings, why not visit their site to find out more about The Pudding.

Here is the information on the challenge:

The Pudding Challenge
To spice up Christmas, we’re urging all UKFBA food bloggers to use ‘The Pudding’ and create some cracking alternative Christmas fare to get ours, and your readers’, taste buds tingling! The blogger who conjures up the most creative cuisine will win a top of the range camera along with a one-to-one session with a respected home economist, to help make those foodie photos.

and here are my recipes:

Stuff the bone cavity of the lamb with The Pudding mixture and tie up with string or secure with cocktail sticks. If there is any stuffing left over it can be cooked separately in an ovenproof dish.

Heat the oil in a roasting tin and brown the lamb on all sides. Add the shallots to the tin.
Roast at 180C (375F) for about 1 1/2 hours for pink lamb, 1 3/4 hours for well-done meat.
Transfer the lamb to a warm platter, cover with foil and leave to rest in a warm place.

Put the shallots, lamb stock and any juices from the lamb in a small pan and puree with a hand blender, add the redcurrant jelly and warm through.
Carve the lamb with The Puddding stuffing with roasted vegetables and the shallot & redcurrant jelly gravy.


Ingredients
200g Matthew Walker The Pudding
8 digestive biscuits
50g butter, melted
600g cream cheese
2tbsp plain flour
175g caster sugar
2 eggs, plus one yolk
142ml creme fraiche or sour cream
1 tbsp of icing sugar

Heat the oven to 160C. Crush the bisucuits in a food processor (or put in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin). Mix with the melted butter. Press the crumbs into the base of your tin, I used a square pan which is about 18cm square because it doesnt have a removable base, I lined it with baking parchment. If you use a 20cm springform tin you dont have to line it. Bake the base for 5 minutes and then leave to cool

Beat the cream cheese with the flour, sugar, eggs , the yolk and the creme fraiche or soured cream until light and fluffy. Crumble The Pudding and distribute it evenly across the biscuit crumb base. Pour the cream mixture over the base and The Pudding. Bake for about 30 minutes and then check, it should be set but slightly wobbly inthe centre. Leave in the tin to cool.

Remove from the tin, as my tin was square, I served the cheesecake in rectangles, dusting the top with icing sugar.

The expert tasting panel, my husband and my mother-in-law, really enjoyed both of these dishes, but the "Roast Shoulder of Lamb with Matthew Walker The Pudding Stuffing" was definitely voted the top recipe.

As a Scot, Yorkshire Puddings are not part of my heritage, but I do rather like them.  My mum never made Yorkshires with our roast beef, although we did have Toad in the Hole which is the same batter with sausages cooked into it.  There seems to be a bit of mystique around the making of them (a bit like scones) but Ive never really had any trouble getting them to rise using the simple recipe below.

The lovely people at Mermaid Bakeware asked me to try out their Yorkshire Pudding tin and, never a girl to shirk a challenge, I accepted with enthusiasm.  Apparently the first Sunday in February is Yorkshire Pudding Day so it would be rude not to celebrate with some golden brown, puffy puddings, whether you eat them with beef, add sausages or eat them for dessert with golden syrup.


Ive never had a proper individual pudding tin, I usually just make one big one in a roasting tin so this is a useful addition to my collection. Mermaid have been making quality bakeware in the West Midlands since 1953. The 4 Cup Yorkshire Pudding Tray is made from Hard Anodised Aluminium and is approximately 245mm x 245mm x 16mm.  Its oven safe up to 240C/475F/Gas Mark 9, is perfect to use with metal utensils as it is scratch resistant and will never peel or blister. 

Yorkshire Pudding (serves 4)

75g (3oz) plain flour
1 egg
75ml (3fl oz) milk
50ml (2fl oz) water
salt & freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil

1. Pre-heat the oven  to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7
2. Sift the flour into a bowl
3. Make a well in the centre, add the egg and mix into the flour.
4. Gradually add the mixture of water and milk beating either by hand of with an electric whisk
5. Season with salt & pepper
6. I like to let my batter stand for a couple of hours, but its not strictly necessary
7. Put half a tablespoon of oil in each of the metal cups
8. Put the tray into the oven and heat for 10 minutes.
9. Remove the tin and pour the batter into the cups
10. Return to the oven and cook for 15 - 20 minutes until the puddings are risen and golden.


Here is the exciting part, when you see the puds starting to rise inside the oven.

I served the Yorkshire Puddings with a pot roast brisket of beef served with carrots and roast parsnips.

See more reviews and recipes from me and my fellow Mermaid bloggers in the Mermaid Bloggers Kitchen and visit the Mermaid on Facebook for offers and competitions.

I received a 4 cup Yorkshire Pudding tin from Mermaid Bakeware, I was not paid for this post and all views expressed are my own.