27 October 2009 DIRTY NAILS BLOG by Joe Hashman EARLY AFTERNOON IN THE ORCHARD, BY THE FIREYou can buy them, frozen and over crisped, in almost any shape you like, from any supermarket in the country, but real Yorkshire puddings are made in the kitchen and cooked in sparklingly hot oil minutes before eating.

Why this dish is called Yorkshire pudding is not quite clear. Many counties have a traditional batter based dish, and the indomitable Fanny Craddock insisted, on that famous last show where she rubbished a poor lady menu and consequently never worked again, that Yorkshire pud was French.

In Yorkshire there is a history of eating the Yorkshire pudding before the main course, as an appetiser. The pudding was cooked under the dripping roast, and consequently retained the juices that fell on it. It is said that some villagers inland from the east coast fed Yorkshire pudding to invading Vikings and they enjoyed it so much they spared them. It is also said that these same villagers told the Vikings where to get real Yorkshire puddings; over the hills in Lancashire! Perhaps they should try there next time?

There is basically no difference between a Yorkshire pudding batter and a pancake mix. The two are just cooked in a slightly different way. Pancakes are ladled into a hot pan with a little oil and spread into a large flat plate sized crepe. Yorkshire pudding is poured into a spitting hot roasting tin and baked. The cooking forces air out of solution in the batter and you end up with a light crunchy top, plenty of air bubbles, some of them larger than others and a more puddinglike base. Without this base, all you have is crispiness, which some people might like, but definitely is not true Yorkie pud.

Almost everyone knows and loves the basic, roast dinner pudding, but you can use your imagination with a Yorkshire Pudding, as we shall see.

The basic Yorkshire pudding (Savoury mix)

180 g plain flour

180 ml whole milk

50 ml water

2 eggs

pinch of salt and pepper

Sift your flour into a bowl, add the seasoning.

Break your eggs, add to the flour and beat them in. If you can use an electric whisk it will be much easier. Mix your milk and water and gradually add to the egg and flour, beating all the time.

Continue beating until bubbles form in the emulsion this is important because it means the liquid is pretty much saturated with air, which will be released in the cooking to bring lightness to the pudding. Some cooks say to rest the batter before use. I must say, having rested and used the mix straight away, there is very little difference between the two.

Real Yorkshire is cooked in lard. You can use sunflower oil, but lard gives a better flavour. Pre heat around 50g of lard in a roasting tin in a very hot oven until it is spitting hot.

Quickly but carefully remove the hot tin from the oven and pour in the batter. The idea is to get the roasting tin backinto the oven as quickly as possible before it looses too much heat, being careful not to burn yourself.

Cook at a high heat for 20 to 30 minutes. It is cooked when it is risen and crusty golden brown on the top.

Toad in the hole (Toad in th is simply Savoury mix as above, poured over partially cooked sausages. The sausage cooking is continued in the oven, so they only need to be lightly browned in a frying pan before hand.

Heat your lard (or oil) as above and then carefully add your partially cooked sausages before pouring in your batter mix. Cook in a hot oven for 20 to 30 minutes, great with onion gravy! This is the original point of savoury Yorkshire pudding; it is a great medium for gravy, and so a good meat substitute in a time when Sunday joints were very expensive.

This needs a cup of tea, not because it is dry, but there is something about the combination of flavours that makes this breakfast meal a treat. It like red wine and chocolate. Bacon, black pudding and mushrooms fried lightly and then places within a batter as for Toad in the hole.

While the batter is cooking in the normal way, fry an egg or two ready to be placed neatly on the rest of the breakfast once it has appeared from the oven.

This is the only recipe that works with individual portions. You cannot really make good Yorkshire puddings in dozen sized multiple bun trays. By the time you get to the end it has lost the heat needed to give the batter a sizzle and the end ones turn out not as crispy or light as the first ones.

Of course the mix, as we have already said, is the same as pancakes, so it can be served with sugar, jam, ice cream, lemon and syrup, honey anything. But then there is something else is the nearest you can get to heaven with a spoon. It is a sweet batter, which is easy to make. Instead of the all the plain flour, simply use a mix of 60g flour and 80g caster sugar. Also use four eggs instead of two, and cook in a butter lined tin instead of lard or oil.

Also the roasting tin is not pre heated.

Before you pour your batter into the well buttered tray, add fruit; cherry, apricot, apple, banana, pineapple anything that takes your fancy. Simply add your batter and cook in the normal way.

This can be simply dusted with caster sugar after cooking or caramelised sugar using a kitchen gun.

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