1lb of dried split yellow peas
1 unsmoked ham shank or small gammon joint or a packet of bacon scraps of you are feeling financially dented
1 carrot
1 onion
1 egg
flour
a pudding cloth or new dish cloth
Soak the ham in water overnight and the peas separately. Place the peas in a bundle in the cloth and tie them loosely they will expand a lot. Put the pudding in the pan with the vegetables all peeled and left whole and cover the meat with water and bring to the boil, simmer gently. The peas will take about an hour, then remove the cloth and tie it over the sink to drain. Continue cooking the meat till the small bone on the shank can easily be removed, or in the case of a gammon joint it gives little resistance to a knife when poked. (For bacon scraps an hour will be plenty) Retain the liquor for soup just add more vegetables carrot and onion diced and simmer till soft mix in any spare pudding and meat scraps and you have a hearty soup for a cold winters day.
Back to the pudding. Remove the peas from the cloth and either put them in a food processor and blend till smooth or use a potato masher mixing in the egg as you go, at this point some add bits of meat chopped up, keep the rest for the sandwiches. Now place your pudding mix back into the cloth which has been floured and hang it again over-night over the tap in the kitchen sink. The heat of peas will cook the egg, some recipes require you to boil the pudding again for a further hour you don’t need to. The next day thickly slice the ham, butter the stottie cakes and smear with pease pudding. Any excess pudding will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days the ham it is best to keep for three days but both can be frozen with good results.
