Vegetarian mains
Leek, cheese and herb suet pudding
Making a suet pudding is a bit of a labour of love - it requires mixing the pastry, lining the bowl, preparing the filling, awaiting the steaming. But it turns out an impressive dish replete with winter comfort.
Ingredients
main
- 50g butter, and a little extra for greasing
- 500g leeks, cut in ½ lengthways, then into 2-3cm slices
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 300ml milk
- 80g smoked Cheddar, grated
for the pastry
- 150g self-raising flour
- 75g vegetarian suet
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- about 75ml cold water
- salt and pepper
Method
main
-
Step 1
Butter a 2 pint pudding bowl. Heat the butter in a large frying pan, add the leeks and cook on a low heat for 10 minutes until soft. Sprinkle over the flour, stir it in and cook for another 2 minutes.
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Step 2
Gradually add the milk, along with the grated cheese and stir to combine. Turn off the heat just as the mixture starts to thicken, season well to taste and leave to cool.
To make the pastry
-
Step 1
put the flour, suet, thyme and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Gradually add just enough water to bring the mixture together using your hand, so you have a ball of soft dough. Break off about a quarter of the dough and keep to one side. Roll out the rest of the dough on a lightly floured work surface, until it is the right size to line the pudding bowl (around ½cm thick).
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Step 2
Spoon in the cooled leek mixture and press down lightly to even it out and remove any air pockets. Fold over the edges of the pastry to form a lip over the leeks. Wet the edge with a little water, then roll out the rest of the pastry to form a circle just large enough to cover the top of the pudding. Press the wet edges down to seal.
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Step 3
Steam for 2-2¼ hours. Leave to cool for a few minutes, then cut into four pieces to serve (it's easier to serve it straight from the bowl, as it does have a tendency to flatten slightly if removed onto a serving plate).
