Ham Hock and Pease Pudding

Ham Hock and Pease Pudding

Pease pudding used to be a staple on the British dinner table but it fell out of in the 1900s. It has a mild but distinctive flavour that is a perfect accompaniment for salty pork.

Ingredients

4 unsmoked ham hocks from The Ginger Pig soaked overnight in water, to remove any excess salt

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped from Chegworth Valley 

2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 bay leaf

5 cloves

1 teaspoon of black peppercorns from Spice Mountain

120g yellow or green split peas, soaked overnight

2 tablespoons of chopped parsley

A few good knobs of butter

Preparation Method

Wash the ham hocks in cold water and put them into a large pot with the onions, carrots, bay leaf, cloves and peppercorns. Cover with cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour.

Drain the split peas and tie them loosely with string in a piece of muslin and put them into a pot with the ham and vegetables and top up with water if necessary.

simmer for one hour then remove the bag of peas and check if they have turned into a chunky purée  and remove from the pan

Once the ham hocks are cool enough to handle, remove and discard most of the outer layer of fat with a knife, then pull the meat from the bone and shred (continue cooking if the meat doesn’t fall off the bone.

Puree the pease pudding with the butter and a little ham stock, to create a sauce-like consistency.