Sunday 17 April 2011

Sunday Lunch.


Today we have had friends for lunch. What can be better than to sit and chat to friends over a meal on a Sunday - a day that can be a difficult day to get through I find.

Because there are usually only two of us for lunch I always take the opportunity when we have guests to cook a roast dinner - four people means buying a larger piece of meat and that always cooks better. Today we chose to have a piece of rare breed (Dexter) beef - not the tenderest piece I have ever cooked, but tasty nevertheless.

But as any good Yorkshireman (and probably the rest of the UK as well) knows - you can't have roast beef without Yorkshire Pudding. I intended to photograph the puddings as they came out of the oven but, of course, I forgot, so the photograph is of the sad five or so which remained after our meal. Still you get the general idea.

Yorkshire Pudding probably originated in order to save on meat which would have been more expensive. It was traditional to eat the pudding first, on its own with good gravy. That way, by the time you got to the meat course you would not be so hungry.
The same goes for savoury suet pudding - a traditional dish in Lincolnshire, where I come from.

The recipe certainly goes back a long way. Here is the recipe given in a book by Hannah Glasse - "The Art of Cookery", published in 1796.

Take a quart of milk and five eggs, beat them up well together and mix them with flour to make a good batter and very smooth. Add a little salt, nutmeg and ginger.
Butter a frying pan and put it under a piece of beef that is roasting, then pour in your batter. When the top is brown turn it over. Put it on a hot dish and send to the table.

I can remember when it was traditional to cook the pudding under the meat and when it was usually one large pudding that was made. Nowadays we usually make small puds like the ones in the photograph.

For people outside the UK who would like to have a go at this next time they have a piece of beef to roast - here is a modern recipe:-

Put four ounces of plain flour into a basin together with some salt. Break two eggs into the flour and then gradually beat in half a pint of milk. Beat it well until bubbles rise to the surface and then leave it to stand for an hour or so.
Put a small knob of fat into each small tin and put them into a very hot oven until the fat is sizzling hot then pour in the batter and cook near the top of the oven. Small puds like the ones in the photograph take about fifteen minutes - larger ones take longer of course.

Here to finish is a lovely rhyme I found in an old book:

Here's to Yorkshire, my lads,
The land of good cheer,
The home of the pudding,
Well known far and near.

Wed a lass that can make one,
Is the theme of my song,
But so long as she's Yorkshire
You cannot go wrong!

18 comments:

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Your yorkshire pudding looks like perfection. As well it should, given your location! Thanks so much for the recipe. I may just give this a try... finally!

I've spent the morning getting caught up on your week's posts. Wonderful, as always!! Have a lovely Sunday lunch!

angryparsnip said...

Your Sunday Dinner sounds lovely.

One Holiday dinner I made a Prime Rib and tried my hand at making a Yorkshire Pudding. I made it in the pan that I took the Roast out of and It puffed up nicely.
It tasted wonderful but since I'm not from Yorkshire I am not sure if it was correct.

cheers, parsnip

H said...

Beef just doesn't taste right without Yorkshire puddings!

Peter Goulding said...

Yorkshire pudding never really caught on over here - don't know why - its fantastic.
What part of Lincolnshire are you from Weaver?

Heather said...

Love the poem Pat, even if it is slightly biased! We have the same tableware - I love the Portmerion Botanic Garden patterns. Your puds look delicious and you can't beat a good piece of beef.

Jinksy said...

I'd love one of your left over with a little jam! LOL

steven said...

weaver i could easily park a plateload of yorkshire puddings where they belong at a moment's notice. even the sorry five look good enough to marry for!! steven

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

Oh Pat, you have me drooling ... since we have become vegetarians I really don't miss meat much. In fact, I was saying what I really miss is bacon. But reading your post about a good roast of fine beef with yorkshire pudding - oh my. I have a wonderful recipe for Y.P. that just never failed. So many wonderful memories attached to those meals. Thanks for the memories.

Bovey Belle said...

Great puds! It's my son who makes them in our house - they come out like Steeples!

Jo said...

Weaver, I think your photo is far better than some plated perfection...it shows how well-loved your puddings are/were!

I had heard of Yorkshire pudding before, but never knew exactly what it was. Thanks for the mouth watering explanation!

Rusty said...

I love a good yorkshire pudding, but to get a good one you pretty well have to make it yourself. (Sigh), now Im hungray. (SMILE)

Cloudia said...

what a delightful post!
A sweet taste of Yorkshire-

Yes, Sundays can be challenging.



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Anonymous said...

A fine post, Pat. I can't remember when I last had a roast Sunday lunch with Yorkshire pudding. Partly because of my self-imposed post-op diet, we're closer to vegetarian now than ever. When I was a kid I used to eat Yorkshire pudding sandwiches with blackcurrant jam in between. Sacrilege, as I soon found when schooled in the county!

Titus said...

Brilliant Weaver! There is little to beat the Sunday roast, and beef is my favourite.
I am the person who makes the big, one-tin Yorkshire, because I like the soggy bit in the middle best!

PurestGreen said...

Oh I haven't had roast beef and Yorkshire Puddings in so long. Hungry now. :)

The Weaver of Grass said...

Yorkshire pudding sandwiches with jam!!! Now that is an idea I have not tried and shall do so next time there are some left.

Thank you for reading me today.

BT said...

I just love Yorkshire puddings. My mother was born in Halifax and made the most marvellous ones - and Jim does a pretty good job of them too. We rarely have a roast dinner. It takes some beating for a change.

Tess Kincaid said...

I've tasted Yorkshire Pudding just once, when I was visiting your fair country. I must admit, I've never made it. Yours looks lovely!