Pease Pudding with Ham
By Lee Jackson ↣ Published on: December 22, 2019
Learn all about this rustic regional dish from the UK – a wonderful pea condiment that is a staple on tables all across the North East of England. This creamy, dreamy pease pudding is a nostalgic treasure from my homeland!
Ham & Pease Pudding is the taste of my childhood. Few culinary combinations are guaranteed to leave me a little teary-eyed like the mere thought of ham & pease pudding. In fact, my nickname as a child was 'Peasy' - partially due to my love for pease pudding.
Pease pudding is a simple, humble spreadable condiment made from split yellow lentils (or Chana Dal if you're Indian). It's traditional to the North East of England (my people!). It's found in every sandwich shop, supermarket and deli and it's delicious!
As far as I'm concerned, it's always spread liberally on a wedge of Stottie Bread with slices of ham. I don't have the patience to make my own Stottie bread i'm afraid, so I use a crusty loaf instead. I make it once a year, between Christmas and New Year to eat with the mountains of leftover ham I have or am about to have. Sometimes I dispense with the bread altogether, and eat it spread over a thick ham slice. Sometimes, I dispense with the ham and eat it from the fridge with a spoon. Sometimes I dispense with the spoon.
Pease Pudding Hot, Pease Pudding Cold?
I have been singing this nursery rhyme since I was a toddler. We regularly sang it, en masse at school as little people, and any time i make pease pudding it's embedded in my head for days. In all my years I've never eaten it hot - always cold and always spread liberally on bread with sliced ham. And never in my life has it made it to nine days old.
Why it works?
It's simple - Making pease pudding is super easy and when it sets, it's a little magical too.
It's nostalgic - who doesn't like a reminder of a comforting food from their childhood?
Stuff You'll Need
Pease Pudding is a humble dish that uses ingredients you can find easily. Here's what goes into the dish.
- Split yellow lentils - These give pease pudding its unique, nutty flavour.
- Fresh - Onion, celery and carrot bring extra depth of flavour.
- Smoked bacon - Brings a salty backbone to the pease pudding. Leave this out for a vegan option. You can also use ham hock or bones.
- Bay leaves - for a little fragrance
- Vinegar - to counteract the savouriness with a tiny touch of sour.
Step by Step
Making pease pudding at home is easy. See for yourself...
- Step 1 - Add all the ingredients (except the vinegar) into a pan along with some water and boil for 11/2 hours until the lentils are soft.
- Step 2 - Remove the bay leaf and bacon slices and then gently drain the lentils of their excess water in a sieve. Return them to the pan.
- Step 3 - Using an immersion blender, blend the lentils until smooth.
- Step 4 - Pour and spread evenly the pease pudding into a bowl or ramekins and leave to cool for 30 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours to let it firm up. Overnight is even better.
Pro Tips
- Vegan - Traditionally, pease pudding is made using a ham base, but making it vegetarian is easy, just omit the bacon from the menu.
- Hammy options - If you're making the ham version, you can also use ham hock or bones, prosciutto or even a ham stock cube.
Serving & Storage Suggestions
- Stottie - Traditionally, pease pudding is a sandwich filling along with a thick cut slice of country ham. It's usually made using a local bread called a 'stottie cake' (a flattish round loaf of soft, doughy bread).
- The perfect sandwich - My personal perfect sandwich for pease pudding is an open one. I use crusty bread with butter, then a thick layer of pease pudding then a few slices of ham and finally a do-pop or two more of pease pudding. Perfection!
- Fridge Storage - As the nursery rhyme goes, you can keep pease pudding fresh in the fridge for a good week, up to 10 days. Make sure it's covered well.
- Freezer Storage - You CAN freeze pease pudding, but you run the risk of it becoming watery. Personally I have never frozen it, and I don't think I know anyone else who has - it typically only lasts one day in my house!
- Leftovers - If you happen to have any leftovers, I can recommend you stir a few spoonfuls into an Indian meat or chicken curry at the end to enhance the flavour and texture no end.
Ready to get cooking?
So, this one is a very personal and nostalgic recipe from my homeland. Not everyone in the UK eats this or may even have heard of it either.
It's a truly regional favourite from the North East and one of its best kept secrets! Are you ready to try it for yourself? Hope you enjoy!
More Lentil recipes from around the World
If you liked lentils as much as I do, I'm sure you'll love some more of my favourite lentil recipes.
Any Questions? (FAQ)
Have a question about Pease Pudding? Let me know in the comments.
What is Pease Pudding?
Pease pudding is a traditional North Eastern English dish made from boiled split peas, often served with ham. It has a thick, set consistency and is a hearty, savoury side dish.
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Ingredients
For the pease pudding
- 1 cup split yellow lentils
- 1/2 medium onion (peeled & diced)
- 1 small carrot (diced)
- 1 celery stick (chopped)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 slices smoked bacon
- 1 tbsp malt vinegar
- Salt & pepper
For the sandwich
- Ham slices
- Bread
Instructions
- Add all the pease pudding ingredients to a pan and cover with 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 1 - 1 1/2 hours until the lentils are tender and not grainy.
- Remove the bacon and bay leaves, and carefully pour away any liquid - it'll make the pease pudding too watery. Using a hand blender, blitz into a smooth puree.
- Add the vinegar and check for seasoning, adding a little salt or pepper as you see fit. Decant to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.
- To serve, spread liberally on bread and add slices of ham.
Just finished a ham and peace pudding sandwich and it was well tasty, even though it was 3 days past it’s best before date that’s why I am here checking if it is safe or not. The Ham was fresh so was the bread and it still got five stars
Those dates are worthless :) If it passes the sniff test I’ll eat it, even if it smells a bit iffy!
can you freeze or can it in small portions for later use?
Hi Heather,
Yes, you can freeze in airtight containers or thick freezer bags for up to 3 months.
Thanks
Lee
A Geordie classic. It’s the season for pease pudding again and I love this stuff. Reminds me of when I lived in South Shields (you know it?) in the 80s. We would have stotty(?) sandwiches with thick ham and pease pudding on the beach. That was years ago now. I found it in tins at the supermarket, but this recipe looks very simple so I will give it a try. Can I post photos if I make it to share?
Thank-you for the recipe
Just up the road!! It’s been years since I lived in the NE, but I still miss stotties! Hope you give this a try and if you do, you can share via the Cook Eat World Facebook or Instagram (just tag me @cookeatworld). Unfortunately, you can’t upload pics as a comment here. Enjoy your pease pudding hinny!!