Over the past year Travelling Kitchen has been a partner in the Meadows to Meaders project which has been exploring the history of Southmead, Bristol. We've loved working with Local Learning CIC, Bristol Old Vic, Wildman and Herring, Calling the Shots and Orchard Secondary School and getting to meet some of the fantastic people of Southmead.
As part of the project we ran a series of intergenerational workshops with Orchard Secondary School exploring 1930s food culture and recipes. We also worked with Fonthill Primary school and cooked some authentic dishes from the period for a meal to share with their families. One of the favourite recipes was Summer Pudding which many of the children tried for the first time. It's a delicious pudding at this time of year and designed to be economical, using leftover bread and surplus fruit from the garden or foraged blackberries. It can also be made using frozen soft fruit. This recipe is adapted from an original recipe by Marguerite Patten,
INGREDIENTS: 900g of seasonal soft fruit (raspberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, strawberries), 150ml of water, 70-100g caster sugar (to taste; it will depend on what fruit you use), 8 large thin slices of white bread (crusts removed)
METHOD
1. Simmer the fruit in the water for 2 minutes. Stir in the sugar until it has dissolved and then simmer a further couple of minutes or until the juices start to run. If you are using strawberries add them now before taking them off the heat. Leave to cool. Be careful not too overcook the fruit as it will spoil the flavour.
2. Lightly grease with butter an 850ml pudding basin. Line the basin with the slices of bread (keeping back one slice), overlapping them slightly and sealing them by pressing the edges together. Fill in any gaps with small pieces of bread.
3. Strain a cup full of juice from the fruit. Use the remaining fruit and juice to fill the bread-lined basin. Cover the top with the last remaining slice of bread, again filling in any gaps with small pieces of bread. Place a small plate or saucer on top to fit exactly inside the rim of the bowl.Place some weights or a tin of beans or similar on the plate. Place in the fridge for at least three hours but preferably overnight.
4. When you are ready to serve, turn the pudding out on to a large serving dish, spooning over the reserved juice to cover any bits of bread that remain white. Serve with cream or yoghurt.
For more information about the Meadows to Meaders project see http://www.locallearning.org.uk/meadows2meaders/