WORDS & RECIPE FERGUS HENDERSON. PHOTOGRAPHY JASON LOWE.
GOURMET TRAVELLER 139This recipe extract from The
Book of St. John by Fergus
Henderson and Trevor Gulliver
(Ebury Press, $59.99, hbk)
has been reproduced with
minor GT style edits.L
unch is the high point of any day,
but at Christmas it is the high point
of the whole month. Every part plays
a vital elemental role – the turkey,
the stuffing, the sides, it is all so
supremely edible and so symbiotic.
How do you top such a high?
There is only one way – a mighty Christmas Pudding.
When I was a child my mother would make two
puddings, one for this year and one for next, and I
remember the muslin-wrapped bundles maturing
broodily in the little outhouse which was used for
such things. I do not know why the mice did not take
a fancy to them, but perhaps they were put off by the
quantities of brandy with which the puddings were
fed over the course of the year. Foolish mice!
The perfect pudding is steadying, with a comforting
density. The nuts, fruit and booze should have become
extremely well acquainted, each imparting rich goodness
to the other through the medium of the breadcrumbs
but retaining their singular qualities as nudules of
spiced joy, rather than becoming a sludge (the mark
of a poor pudding). I admit there is no getting around
the fact that it is a heavy end to a solid lunch, but never
be tempted to lessen the size of your pudding! It will
defeat you on the day itself, but embrace defeat! It
is the next day that it really comes into its own.
Christmas pudding leftovers are even more glorious
than the pudding itself. The pudding carries with it a
twinge of sadness, for it is a punctuation mark. In the
weeks before big day the excitement builds, a frenzy
of shopping and pantry-filling, cupboards heaving
with tangerines, mincemeat and cold hams, and
finally the crescendo – lunch. The pudding marks
the end of that lunch, the lunch which marks the
end of all that excitement. But wait, it is not over!
The leftovers are here to prolong that joy.
I have been known to employ the services
of a Breville sandwich toaster for Christmas
leftovers, filling it with Christmas
pudding, brandy butter and Jersey
cream. The rigour of the compress
creates a sturdy and reassuringly
weighty parcel which bursts in the
mouth, spiced and molten. But
for true leftovers delight melt a
spoonful of brandy butter in a
frying pan and add a generous slice
of pudding. Fry on each side until
thoroughly hot through – it will
break into pieces but this is no bad
thing – allowing for more contact with the butter.
Serve with cold brandy butter, the contrasting
temperatures an unparalleled pleasure, and a glass
of rich Madeira. Savour as you consider next year’s
pudding, mellowing and maturing in your stores.500 gm dark brown sugar
320 gm fresh white breadcrumbs
320 gm (2 cups) currants
300 gm black treacle (see note)
220 gm suet (see note),
coarsely grated
175 gm prunes, coarsely chopped
175 gm raisins
175 gm (1⁄ cups) walnuts, chopped
140 gm sultanas
125 ml brandy, plus extra for
feeding and to serve
125 ml Guinness
125 ml rum
120 gm self-raising flour
100 gm (1⁄ cups) flaked almonds
75 gm mixed peel
4 large eggs
2 small Bramley or 2 Granny
Smith apples, peeled and diced
Grated zest of 1 orange
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1½ tsp ground mixed spice
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
¾ tsp grated nutmeg
Chilled double cream,
to serve1 No need to be blue – the
method is amazingly straightforward.
Place all the ingredients in a very
large mixing bowl and combine
thoroughly, making sure that the
liquid has soaked all through the dry
ingredients and coated the nudules
of fruits and nuts, which should
be distributed
evenly.
2 Take two
1.5-litre pudding
bowls and fill
them with the
mix, pressing
down lightly to
ensure that there
are no gaps.
Now to seal
them for cooking: for each pudding
basin, double up a sheet of aluminium
foil and then make a 2cm-pleat down
the centre (the cross-section would
show as a Z). This will allow the
pudding to rise slightly. Lay the foilChristmas pudding
MAKES 2 X 1.5LITRE PUDDINGSover the pudding with the pleat in
the middle, press down the edges
and then tie tightly with string.
3 Place a saucer upside down in
a large, deep, lidded saucepan of
simmering water, then place in your
pudding, topping up the water if
necessary so that it reaches about
two-thirds up the edge. Bring to the
boil, replace the lid and cook the
pudding over a steady heat for
4 hours, keeping an eagle eye to
ensure that it does not boil dry.
Remove from the heat and cool.
If you are keeping the pudding
for 2 months (or 2 years) it will
just keep improving, so long as
you keep feeding it liberally
with brandy every month or so.
Reseal with new foil every time.
4 On Christmas Day, repeat the
cooking process with the very same
method. You are just reheating, so
2½ hours should be fine. When you
are ready to serve, turn it out on to a
plate and warm some brandy briefly
in a small saucepan. Set it alight in
the pan (careful of your eyebrows),
then pour the burning liquid over
the pudding. Serve with cream.
Whoom! Transmogrified.
Note Suet needs to be ordered
ahead from butchers. Black
treacle is available from select
supermarkets. If unavailable,
substitute dark molasses. Perhaps the mice
were put off by the
brandy with which
the puddings were
fed over the course of
the year. Foolish mice!