Fosse Farm Pudding
A comforting egg & cheese pudding which was a staple of my grandmother, Ada Lydia Louisa Bryant (née Jackson),
who fed the family and farm hands with it for a third of a century (1911-1945) at
Fosse Farm (now Fosse House) - Stratton-on-the-Fosse - Somerset (SW England).
INGREDIENTS
- 100 gm (¼ lb) Bread - may be stale
- 200 gm (½ lb) Grated cheese
- 400 ml (2 cups - 16 fl.oz) Whole milk
- 4 large Eggs
- 1 Small onion1 - peeled and coarsely chopped (optional)
- Aromat (or salt) to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Mustard powder and/or nutmeg to taste (optional)
(If you work in volumes this comes to 1 cup each of
breadcrumbs and grated cheese and 2 cups of milk.)
PREPARATION
By "stale" I mean bread that is a bit hard, not bread with green fur! Make it into breadcrumbs in a blender with the Aromat/salt, pepper and any spices - add the chopped onion to the bread in the blender if you're using onion.
The original cheese used for this was Cheddar (Stratton-on-the-Fosse is only 12 miles from the village of Cheddar, so it's the local cheese they made at Fosse Farm), but it works well with Gruyere (different flavour), and this recipe is a good way of using up any stray bits of cheese that have become a bit hard. Unlike bread, a little mould on a hard cheese is not a reason to discard it2 - if you don't like its flavour cut off the majority of it, but don't worry about any odd bits that get into the grater, they're perfectly wholesome. Mix the breadcrumbs and cheese by hand rather than blender/food processor - using a machine tends to make the mixture lumpy.
Grease a heavy casserole. Fill it no more than ⅔ full with the mixture of breadcrumbs and grated cheese. Beat the eggs and milk together and pour into the casserole. This should form a sloppy mix with the cheese and breadcrumbs. If it's too stiff add a little more milk, if it's too sloppy add a few more breadcrumbs (experience helps here). Stir well and bake at 150°C (300°F) for about 1.5 - 2 hours with the lid off.
Serves 3-4. It may be served hot or cold, or reheated by being cut into slices and fried.
Fosse Farm Pudding was created by my grandmother Ada Louisa Bryant as a comforting meal on a cold day.
1 If you like it (or worry about vampires) add one or two cloves of garlic as well.
2 Mould on bread isn't actually bad for you, but it doesn't taste nice so mouldy bread is best given to the birds.
This is a recipe page on the James Bryant (G4CLF) Web-site.
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