Leek and bacon pudding

As a foodie, I’m ashamed to admit that the first time I tried suet was only three years ago. It’s not that I avoided it, just that it’s not something we ate at home – suet pastry was out of fashion even when my parents were growing up so they never wanted to cook it. Since my amazing gastronomical* discovery I have been making up for this, and now wouldn’t dream of cooking a stew without suet dumplings bobbing on top.



Suet pastry has a soft, almost cakey or bread-like texture, although it is really something other than either of those things. The self-raising flour gives it a fluffy texture and the suet creates air pockets as it melts, which means it is not necessarily as heavy as it looks, and works well with both savoury and sweet puddings (I’ll be using it for jam roly poly later on this month).



This pudding is the perfect thing for a lazy weekend lunch: you can leave it bubbling away whilst you potter about the house and it’s satisfyingly impressive for not that much effort. Another plus is that it’s much quicker to make than something like a steak and kidney pudding, as you don’t have to spend hours stewing the meat beforehand.

I’ve added a bit of cider to the recipe, as the flavour goes so well with leeks and bacon, plus I rather like a glass of it alongside the finished pudding. If you don’t have any cider to hand it’s still delicious without.

If you too have never tried suet pastry, I urge you to give this recipe a go - you don’t know what you’re missing!



Things I have learnt from making this pudding:

Suet pastry is probably the easiest type of pastry to make: you don’t need to rub in the fat because the suet comes in small pellets that you just mix in to the flour.

The dough should be quite sticky, but not so wet that you can’t roll it out. If it’s too dry it may end up a bit heavy when cooked, so I always err on the side of slightly too much water, then use a good amount of flour to roll it out if necessary. I think this balance is something that you only learn with practice, and frankly I still get it wrong even though I’ve made it many many times now.

The recipe direction ‘do not overwork the dough!’ has made everyone afraid of making their own pastry, but really it isn’t the end of the world if it does end up slightly tough: after all it’s the taking part that counts!



Leek and bacon pudding: serves 2-4
200g self-raising flour
125g beef or vegetable suet
A pinch of salt
200g bacon lardons
3 leeks
150ml double cream
A knob of butter
A splash of cider, plus extra for drinking (optional)

• Fry the lardons with the butter until they are beginning to colour, then put into a bowl and set aside
• Use a few tablespoons of the fat that is left in the pan to grease the insides of a pudding basin (the one I use is 900ml, but a larger one would also work)
• Soften the leeks in the same pan used for the lardons then add a splash of cider and simmer until well reduced
• Add the cream and simmer for a further minute or two, then mix in the lardons and remove from the heat whilst you make the pastry
• Mix the flour, suet and salt in a large bowl
• Make a well in the centre and pour in cold water, mixing with your hand as you go, until it forms a soft, slightly sticky dough
• Roll out the dough on a floured work surface to make a large circle about a quarter of an inch thick
• Cut a quarter segment out of the dough and set aside for the lid
• Use the rest of the dough to line your pudding basin, pushing the edges together and patching up as necessary to create an even casing for the filling
• Add the filling and then roll out the reserved quarter of the pastry to make a lid
• Press the lid over the filling and crimp the edges to seal
• Cover the basin with foil and place in a large pan of gently boiling water, and cover the pan with a lid
• Steam for 1 hour 30 minutes
• Take the basin out of the pan and remove the foil
• Turn out onto a plate and serve with a glass of cider