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| Bunch of Freshly Picked Nettles |
Best eaten tender, soon after emerging from their winter slumber. When picking them, wear rubber gloves, so you will not be stung. This recipe calls for a decent bunch. Make sure they are growing in a spot where they have not been sprayed, away from a road and preferably where there are no livestock grazing.
This recipe is based on an ancient type of pudding, commonly eaten in the past.
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| Added ingredients: leeks, sorrel, watercress, thyme & chives |
Puddings, nowadays, apart from blood puddings, are usually regarded as sweet dishes, but this was not always the case. Originally, they were placed in an animal's stomach, like the modern Scottish haggis. From the seventeenth century, puddings, generally savory, wrapped in a cloth and thus cooked. Later, in second half of the nineteenth century, they were placed in a pudding basin and steamed.
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| Barley and Nettle Pudding being placed in Lamb Stock |
RECIPE
Lamb, ham or chicken stock
Barley (pearl barley was used in this case)
Bunch of nettles
Bunch of watercress
Bunch of sorrel
2 leeks
Chives
1 wild garlic leaf
Sprigs of thyme
Salt
The barley was soaked before hand, in lamb stock and then drained (there is a similar version of this recipe, that uses barley flour). The greens were finely chopped, added to the barley, along with some sea salt, mixed together. Some of the larger leaves were held aside and used to line the pudding cloth, and to wrap the pudding. It was then tied up and cooked in a saucepan of lamb stock for an hour and a half.
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| Nettle and Barley Pudding |
VERDICT
The pudding should have been opened, once it had cooled, but being in a hurry to taste it, it was opened while still steaming - so it lost its shape! It was wonderfully tasty, and was eaten with some locally produced lamb. It is likely that in medieval times, all sorts of exotic foreign spices (of which they were so fond), would have been added - by those who could afford it.
Next time, I am going to try the barley flour version, it is an inspirational dish: traditional, healthy, cheap, local and seasonal.
Email: kilkennyseakale@gmail.com
