Black pudding hash, fried eggs, black olives and rocket recipe

Black pudding hash, fried eggs, black olives and rocket recipe

Perfectly paired with a hot bullshot cocktail, warm yourself up this winter with Rose Prince's delicious, hearty brunch recipe.

With crisply fried outer edges enveloping a succulently emollient, meaty interior, hash made with the filling of black blood pudding sausages is a delicious first course or breakfast garnish for eggs—no matter how forbidding it may sound. It is a popular dish in Lancashire, where the sausages are made by the Bury Black Pudding Company —one of several local, esteemed producers—and also sold hot and ready to eat from their Bury Market stall.

Black pudding hash isn’t just for morning fry-ups anymore. Seasoned with a hint of onion and perhaps a touch of cloves and cinnamon, it often is elegantly served as a dinner appetizer at Roast, the lively modern restaurant above the Borough Market in London. Cool, sour-sweet applesauce cuts the richness of the meat for an intriguing effect.

INGREDIENTS

For the hash

• 500g plain black pudding (without lumps of fat; I recommend Stornoway)
• 500g medium-sized potatoes, peeled
• 2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 heaped tsp tomato purée
• 1 heaped tsp black olive paste (tapenade)
• 1 level tsp capers, chopped melted butter, for frying

To serve

• eggs
• paprika
• fresh rocket leaves
• good-quality soft black olives, pitted
• black sesame seeds
• olive oil

METHOD

• Remove the black pudding from its skin and mash with a fork. Put in a bowl. Boil the potatoes whole until just tender when pierced with a knife (they should not be mushy). Leave to cool, then cut into 1cm dice. Meanwhile, add the other hash ingredients (except the butter) and a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper to the black pudding. Mix well. Add the potatoes and stir to a lumpy hash – do not over-mix.
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• Heat the butter in an 18cm non-stick pan. Spoon in the hash mixture and spread it out evenly over the base. Cook over a low-medium heat for eight to 10 minutes – the hash should be brown and crisp underneath if you lift it with a spatula. Either put it under a low grill to cook the surface, or place a dinner plate over the top of the pan, invert it so the hash is on the plate, then slide the hash back into the pan to cook the other side – again for about 10 minutes.
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• Fry an egg or two for each person and serve on a slice of hot hash with a pinch of paprika, some rocket, chopped black olives, a pinch of black sesame seeds and a few drops of olive oil.