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caramelised onion and mushroom layered suet pudding

18 December 2011 by Dominic Franks

i’ve been reading a lot of blog posts and magazine articles recently about what to serve vegetarians for Christmas Lunch… as though its the most dreadful problem to have at this time of year… world economy gone to pot… children starving in Africa… war in the Middle East… all major issues yes, but what the FUCK do we serve those god forsaken vegetarian wankers?
well i’ve talked about this before… and I speak from experience… there is nothing a vegetarian hates more than being made to feel ‘different’ or ‘special’… they want what we’re having just without the meat… I know it sounds like a cop-out or like you’ve not made any effort but I PROMISE you… give the vegetarian the choice of a special tomato gloop thingy or a plate of roasted potatoes, freshly steamed vegetables, stuffing, maybe a Yorkshire Pudding and some yummy veggie gravy and they will go with the veg plate every time…
… but if you’re really not satisfied with that answer, then make this…Β 
caramelised onion and mushroom layered suet pudding
could there be anything more Christmassy than a suet pudding…? and yes I did make this for him last year but what better compliment that being asked to cook it again so clearly i’m making this for The Viking on Christmas Day but i’m going to add a third layer of sage and onion stuffing to really enhance the Christmas Spirit.
For the filling:
4 large onions – finely sliced
8 large field mushrooms
1 packet of good quality sage and onion stuffing

For the suet pastry:
150g vegetarian suet
300g self raising flour
200ml cold water
fresh herbs and seasoning

– with plenty of butter, slowly caramelise the onions in a deep pan with a couple of teaspoons of sugar, this should take about an hour on a low to medium heat but turn them very frequently until they are golden

– meanwhile bake the mushrooms in a hot oven with plenty of oil and rosemary until they are tender, (roughy 20 mins of 180C) they could also be turned once or twice


– make the stuffing mix

– in a large bowl mix the flour, suet and water to form a dough then roll it out, nice and thick and line a well greased pudding basin, making sure you leave enough pastry for the lid

– begin to layer the pudding, onions then mushrooms, then stuffing until full, you may have to cut some of the mushrooms to fill the layers, then place the pastry lid on top and seal with water

– cover in foil with a pleat in the top of the foil to allow for air to expand and steam for 2 hours


eat and of course, enjoy!

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Filed Under: Everything else Tagged With: suet pudding

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Comments

  1. The Owl Wood says

    18 December 2011 at 11:13 am

    Dom, you're absolutely correct. I've been veggie for over thirty years, vegan for the past three or four so I speak from experience too.

    Eating out somewhere and seeing everyone else served good wholesome solid food while some dish of every vegetable known under the sun in tomato sauce and every herb under the sun is plonked down in front of me has on occasion moved me to tears.

    There usually also isn't any recognisable vegetable in the veggie concoctions.

    It's the old meat and two/three veg mentality where the meat is the meal and the veg is just to stop the gravy flowing off the plate.

    Solid food rules!

    Veggies (and vegans) LIKE TO EAT WITH KNIVES AND FORKS TOO, NOT JUST SPOONS!

  2. Dom at Belleau Kitchen says

    18 December 2011 at 11:49 am

    @owlwood… you go Ian!

  3. Jenny Eatwell says

    18 December 2011 at 11:51 am

    Never mind the veggies, I know several carnivores who would happily munch their way through a portion of this – me included!

    Thanks for making me laugh, this Sunday morning. Your first paragraph very nearly had me spraying the monitor with coffee. πŸ™‚

  4. Janice says

    18 December 2011 at 12:15 pm

    I have to say it was a bit of a relief when my son broke up with his veggie girlfriend, although I did enjoy the challenge! I'm sorely tempted to make this today, except my pudding basin is currently full of Xmas pud and I don't have another big one πŸ™ I would also have to go and find some sage and onion stuffing, but I'm thinking about ways round that. Great recipe and not just for vegetarians!

  5. Brownieville Girl says

    18 December 2011 at 12:30 pm

    Great to see something truely substantial for the veggies!

    I'd be delighted to have this handed up to me any day of the year!!

  6. Elaine says

    18 December 2011 at 1:06 pm

    Owl Wood will be having your steamed pudding this year, with just one addition, I thought I'd add a few cranberries to make it look jolly and festive. Alternatively I could add a tomato sauce, with every known herb to flavour it – just for old times sake…

    Joking aside, as soon as I heard about this creation I knew it would be a winner. Well done Dom. xx

  7. Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes says

    18 December 2011 at 1:22 pm

    While I do love my veggies, I'm not a veggie! This looks delicious and it looks like it would be a great meal! I'll bet it would be even tastier with a layer of hamburg! LOL!!! Seriously, I can see why you rec'd another request to make it!

  8. Suelle says

    18 December 2011 at 1:58 pm

    This looks really good, Dom – I'm even tempted to try it for my family of committed meat eaters. A layer of stuffing will make it really festive too!

  9. Baking Addict says

    18 December 2011 at 2:06 pm

    This looks amazing!! I've never tried a suet pudding before but would love to. Karen from Lavender and Lovage recently posted a steak and kidney suet pudding and I wondered if there was a vegetarian option. Here's my answer! Thanks!!

  10. bellini says

    18 December 2011 at 2:19 pm

    My dad grew up in Lincolnshire in a meat and potato society through the war years. Thank goodness as a whole we have come to realize that there are delicious vegetarian dishes like this one which don't have to consist of mushy veg and potato dishes. I can't imagine what he had to eat in his growing up years or in the army. I grew up with tofu cheesecake and nut cakes as part of our regular menu which also included meat.

  11. Sue/the view from great island says

    18 December 2011 at 2:46 pm

    This looks regal and festive, I'd love it on my Christmas table!

  12. From Beyond My Kitchen Window says

    18 December 2011 at 2:49 pm

    Just the shape of this dish is inviting. I heard a Dr. on TV say that everyone should have a meatless meal twice a week. I bet the Viking can't wait to dig into this delicious pudding.

  13. Mark Willis says

    18 December 2011 at 3:33 pm

    I'm a meat eater, but I'd happily eat that suet pudding – maybe with lots of gravy and a couple of pork sausages, though! It does look good πŸ™‚
    My Dad was a non-meat eater, and he was always pretty happy to have what everyone else was having – less the meat.

  14. Kate@whatkatebaked says

    18 December 2011 at 4:10 pm

    I reckon anyone, veggie or not, would be chuffed to be presented this on christmas day! Good work Dom!

  15. Choclette says

    18 December 2011 at 4:32 pm

    Dom, it's so true. Give me a good plate of Christmas veggies and I don't need a centre piece. Or at least I didn't think I did until I saw this!

  16. Kavey says

    18 December 2011 at 5:16 pm

    What Jenny said, that first para made me snort and I insisted on reading it to Pete… who heartily concurred!

    I'd enjoy this one too, and I'm a real meat lover!

    What we do for my pescetarian mum is to look for a main that will work with all the same vegetables/ trimmings as the roast meat. We'll do a vegetarian gravy alongside.

    So the plates are pretty similar apart from the protein choice.

    This looks rather amazing.

    Please can I come?

  17. manu says

    18 December 2011 at 5:47 pm

    Wow that's so beautiful!
    Have a great evening

  18. Chele says

    18 December 2011 at 6:10 pm

    As a “recovering veggie” I reckon I would gladly opt for a piece of this over a slice of turkey any Christmas. Looks fab.

  19. Wally B says

    18 December 2011 at 6:13 pm

    Got lots of veggie friends so will have to try this out.

  20. Susan Lindquist says

    18 December 2011 at 6:15 pm

    My goodness, such vehemance … but yes, why is it such a BIG DEAL to plan a dinner table that everyone can enjoy? … My stategy? Fix four or five vegetable sides … one of which has some 'wow factor' so that it can be the center of the plate for said 'wanker' … every gets to pick what they like and we're all happy.

    PS – Is a 'wanker' what I THINK it is?

  21. Phil in the Kitchen says

    18 December 2011 at 6:22 pm

    Nice dish – serious winter food, I'd say. If a vegetarian ever manages to trick their way into my house, then I'll definitely give them this.

  22. Sid S says

    18 December 2011 at 7:39 pm

    this looks so beautiful from the inside!! I would love something like this haha

  23. Karen S Booth says

    18 December 2011 at 8:38 pm

    Perfect perfect perfect! MY parents are veggie and I was for 5 years…..I would quite happily devour this and come back for the basin ~ I am GOING to try this out Dom, cos' it looks bloody lush!
    Karen

  24. hungryhinny says

    18 December 2011 at 10:44 pm

    This looks amazing! Can you get vegetarian suet anywhere?

    This will probably make any vegetarians reading cringe, but the centrepiece of our Christmas dinner this year will be a walnut and cranberry nutroast! There's a lot of hatred for nutroasts around which I really don't get – they're awesome! And definitely the best thing to go with all the traditional trimmings – who wants gravy on a veggie lasagne?!

  25. Laura@howtocookgoodfood says

    19 December 2011 at 12:00 am

    What an amazing dish to serve up, this would suit me and I am no veggie!

  26. Susan's blog says

    19 December 2011 at 12:15 am

    Gorgeous indeed, sounds lush too, and spot on about how people who are vegetarians are treated in the food world. I tied it once but a bacon butty got the better of me :-((

  27. miskcooks.com says

    19 December 2011 at 8:33 am

    I've often thought it's the texture and teeth-grinding action that's missing from a vegetarian meal. Nearly all mushroom dishes have that missing 'chew' factor which makes them (imo) very satisfying for a carnivore type person. Your dish look simply delicious.

  28. Magnolia Verandah says

    19 December 2011 at 12:15 pm

    Stop stop stop – I can't stand it any longer, I am going to have to stop reading your blog Dom otherwise I am never going to able to get into this red dress! My mouth is watering just looking at the photo, its just so tempting.

  29. GG says

    19 December 2011 at 11:31 pm

    I'm always delighted when my vegetarian friends just want the same as the rest of us without the meat. I just can't be bothered with extra dishes for individual guests. However I would love to make this great suet pudding for supper for all of us. GG

  30. C says

    21 December 2011 at 8:27 pm

    That looks utterly delicious. I don't eat much meat and would always choose the meat option, minus the meat, because the veggie thing is often something odd.

    And yay for suet pastry – it just looks so stodgy and amazing!

  31. Ruth Ellis says

    3 January 2012 at 8:46 pm

    Planning to give this a shot with veggie friends when we get together soon. Apologies if I'm being blind, but how many folk does this quantity serve?
    Thanks!

  32. Dom at Belleau Kitchen says

    3 January 2012 at 8:59 pm

    Hi Ruth,

    It all depends on the size of your pudding basin but this one would happily serve 4 if not 5.

    Hope this helps

    Dom

  33. Anonymous says

    17 September 2014 at 12:36 pm

    Ive made this and im not a vegetarian its gorgeous ..

  34. fiona birnie says

    7 December 2014 at 11:52 am

    Why are vegetarians wankers ?

  35. Ianinfrance says

    26 February 2015 at 5:49 pm

    Same reason carnivores are, of course. LOL.

    Nice looking recipe, VERY similar to a Gary Rhodes one from “Gary Rhodes at the table” Tempts me even though I'm a committed carnivore..

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About Dom In The Kitchen

My name is Dominic, I am a cook, food writer and creative event producer. I write the food blog Dom In The Kitchen and also write a monthly recipe column for Lincolnshire Life Magazine and Good Taste Magazine. I also run creative event production company The Persuaders, producing global events for brands since 1997. I am based both in the small village of Belleau in Lincolnshire and the smaller village of London! Read More…

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