Well that, boys and girls, was a sad old Christmas which, like many of us, yours truly was compelled to spend alone. Here’s a small pudding that was whipped up from stuff lying around the kitchen. The following made around two generous servings:
- 125g mixed fruit (usual vacuum-packed bag from Waitrose, this stuff keeps for ages and has all the nice things)
- 50mL dark rum (I happened to have Goslings, but any dark rum will do, not Bacardi)
- 25g SR flour
- 25g breadcrumbs
- 25g suet (dried, from the packet)
- 25g dark brown sugar
- 1 egg
- juice of half a lemon
- a bashed up clove, pinch of dried ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg
- a pinch of salt
Mix everything together, and pour into a generously buttered bowl, about twice the volume of the batter. Cover with foil and steam for ninety minutes. I just use the vegetable steamer insert for my big saucepan.
Pass the custard.
Dried Basil and Other Heresies 