Gordon Ramsay\'s Great British Pub Food

SERVES 4

SUET PASTRY
softened butter, to brush
100g self-raising flour
50g fresh white
breadcrumbs
finely grated zest of
1 lemon
75g vegetable suet
5- 6 tbsp whole milk

LEMON FILLING
100g unsalted butter,
diced
100g light brown or
Demerara sugar
2 lemons

TO SERVE
good-quality vanilla
ice cream

Sussex pond pudding

For this inventive, classic pudding, whole or half lemons

are encased with butter and sugar in suet pastry and

steamed until soft. As you cut into the pudding, the sweet

buttery lemony juices flood the plate to form a pond.

Brush four small pudding moulds with butter; set aside. Sift the flour

into a large bowl and mix in the breadcrumbs, lemon zest and suet.

Make a well in the middle and add 5 tbsp milk. Mix to a smooth dough

that comes away from the side of the bowl. If the dough seems too

dry, add a little extra milk.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surfacp and divide into four

portions. From each portion, cut out a quarter Of t he do ugh for the lid

and roll out the larger piece to a round big enou. h to line a pudding

mould. Neatly line the moulds with the pastry roun pressing down

on the base and sides to even out the thickness.

For the filling, divide the butter and brown sugar equally between the

moulds. Trim off the pointed ends of the lemons, the n cut in half and

remove any pips. Put a lemon half into each mould. Roll out the other

pieces of dough for the lids. Dampen the edges with a little water, lay

the lids over the filling and press the pastry edges together to seal.

Cover the puddings with pieces of pleated foil and tie in place with

kitchen string. (Make a string handle so that they ca n be lifted easily.)

Bring a 2-3cm depth of water to the boil in a large saucepan (that will

take all the moulds). Lower them into the water, which should come

two-thirds of the way up their sides. Put the lid on t he pan and steam

for about 2 hours, topping up with boiling water as necessary.

Serve the puddings while still warm. Remove the foil, run a small knife

around the sides and invert the puddings onto warm, lipped plates.

Serve immediately, with generous scoops of vanilla ice cream.