Warm Black Pudding and Apple Salad

Black Pudding, eh? You either love it or hate it. I adore it! There is just something really moreish about it. I have made many versions of black pudding salad but this Warm Black Pudding and Apple Salad is without a doubt my favourite. Top it with a poached or boiled egg and you have a tasty filling meal in no time.

If you think you don’t like black pudding, I urge you keep trying different varieties. I have tried a few that I found very disappointing. My personal favourites are Clonakilty Black Pudding or Hanley’s Pudding*. Don’t think of it as just a breakfast food, in fact I rarely use it for breakfast. I have more recipes here using it.

Useful tips & links:

• You could make this as a starter on it’s own without the egg.
• If you really want to impress, make the egg a crispy egg like this one.
• I served it as a main meal with parmentier potatoes and I’ll post a recipe for those soon – recipe here.
• As you know I think bacon makes everything better, so have a look a Nessa Robins’ version of a black pudding salad with bacon.
• This recipe comes together very quickly so if you are nervous of timings you could preheat your oven to a low heat and keep food warm there until you are ready to serve.

*I met Adrian from Hanley’s Puddings at a course and he kindly gave us all some samples of their products. I used their black and white pudding roulade to make this and I will be purchasing it again as it was delicious.

Warm Black Pudding and Apple Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 150g of black pudding
• 1 small granny smith apple
• 15g or 1 tbsp. of butter
• 1 tbsp. of apple syrup or honey
• 2 eggs
• 3 tbsp. of olive oil
• 1 tbsp. of white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp of wholegrain mustard
• Salt and pepper
• ½ red onion finely sliced
• Spinach leaves

Method:

• The eggs in this recipe are six minute boiled eggs. Start these by putting a small pot of cold salted water on to boil. When it is boiling, gently lower the eggs into the water and boil for 6 minutes exactly – set a timer!
• Slice and cook the black pudding whatever way you prefer. I cook it under a low grill. It cooks very quickly so keep an eye on it.
• Prep your apples by coring them and slicing them into thin wedges. You can peel them if you like but I think there is no need here.
• In a small non stick pan melt the butter and add the apple syrup or honey. When the butter starts to foam add the sliced apple and cook over a medium heat until the apple is soft and starting to caramelise. It will only take a couple of minutes on either side.
• When the eggs have boiled for six minutes, remove them from the pan and allow them to cool enough so that you can peel them. You will need to take care doing this as they can break easily.
• When the apples are cooked, take them out of the pan with a slotted spoon.
• Take the pan off the heat and add the olive oil, vinegar and mustard to the syrup that is left over from the apples. Season with a little salt and pepper, whisk it together and use this warm dressing to coat the spinach leaves.
• Top the leaves with the red onion, apples and black pudding.
• If you are using the boiled or some poached eggs, put them on top and break them open to allow the yolk run into the salad. Serve immediately.