Pease pudding

Pease pudding, also known aspease porridge, is a savourypuddingdish made ofboiledlegumes,typicallysplit yellow peas, with water, salt and spices, and often cooked with abaconorhamjoint. A common dish in thenorth-east of England, it is consumed to a lesser extent in the rest of Britain. InNewfoundland, it retains its traditional name as part of the customaryJiggs dinner. In non-English speaking countries, similar dishes exist under different names.
Pease pudding is typically thick,somewhat similar in texture to (but perhaps a little more solid than)hummus, and is light yellow in colour, with a mild taste. Pease pudding is traditionally produced in England, especially in the industrialNorth Eastern areasincludingSouth Shields, and on down toDarlingtonon theNorthYorkshireborder. It is often served withhamorbacon,beetrootandstottie cakes. It is also a key ingredient in the classicsaveloydip. In Southern England, it is usually served withfaggots. Also in southern England is the small village ofPease Pottagewhich, according to tradition, gets its name from serving peasepottageto convicts either on their way from London to the South Coast, or fromEast GrinsteadtoHorsham.
Peasemealbrose, also known as brosemeal, is a traditional breakfast dish in the north of Scotland. It is made in the traditional way and usually eaten with butter, and either salt or honey.
In parts of the Midlands,it replacesmushy peasas a traditional accompaniment to fish and chips, although the distinction is largely the name and tendency for mushy peas to be green. In both cases, the starchy "field peas" used are harvested dry, as opposed to "sweet peas", which are the same species harvested fresh.
InMiddle English,peasewas amass nounused in the same way asflouroroatmeal. Later taken to be a plural form, the modern singularpeaand its pluralpeasderive from this, in a process known asback-formation.
The dish is a traditional part ofJiggs dinnerin Newfoundland, Canada.
InGerman-speaking countries, pease pudding is known under the nameErbspüreeorErbsenpüree. Alternative regional names areErbsbreiorErbsmus. It is especially widespread in the traditional cuisine of the German capitalBerlin. The best-known German dish which is traditionally served with pease pudding isEisbein. A similar dish withham hock,karka, is served in Lithuania.
In the Netherlands, pea soup is calledsnert, orerwtensoep. It is cooked with dried split peas (yellow, or green), with chopped onions and bay leaf, and a smoked pork sausage, often Polish, which is then sliced, and served with the soup.
TraditionalRussian cuisinehas several pea-based dishes, including pease pudding/puree/soups known asgorohovaya kasha(Russian:гороховая каша) orgoroshnitsa(Russian:горошница).In theGorokhovetsky DistrictofVladimir Oblastthe dish goes by the namepuchalka(Russian:пучалка) and is traditionally made for weddings, commemorations of the dead, Christmas, andGreat Lent.
InBeijing cuisine,wandouhuang(豌豆黄) is a sweetened and chilled pease pudding made with yellow split peas or shelled mung beans, sometimes flavoured withsweet osmanthusblossoms anddates. A refined version of this snack is said to have been a favourite ofEmpress Dowager Cixi.
InGreek cuisine, a similar dish is calledfava(Φάβα). Despite the name, it is usually made from yellow split peas, notbroad beans. The mashed peas are usually drizzled with olive oil and topped with chopped raw onions.
Generally, recipes for pease pudding involve steeping soaked split yellow peas in stock (traditionally ham hock stock) and cooking them for around 40 minutes. The resulting mush is then blended with other ingredients, which depend on the variation. The oldest known written recipe for something similar to pease pudding involvessaffron,nutmegand a littlecinnamonin the blending process;modern recipes sometimes beat in an egg at this point to act as an extra binding agent.
Pease pudding is featured in anursery rhyme, "Pease Porridge Hot".
The song "Food, Glorious Food" from the 1960sWest EndandBroadwaymusical (and 1968 film)Oliver!has a lyric extolling pease pudding.
InThe Princess and the Goblin, Curdie takes bread and pease pudding with him for sustenance when he goes to spy on the King's house.