Easy Pease Pudding

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 60 mins
Soak Time: 8 hrs
Total: 9 hrs 10 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Yield: 2 cups

Pease pudding is a traditional British recipe hailing from northeast England. It is not a pudding in the dessert sense of the word but is a savory dish that is served with cooked meats, most commonly boiled ham or gammon (cured hind leg of pork). Cold, leftover pease pudding can also be fried.

A pease pudding is made from cooking yellow split peas into a lovely soft paste-like consistency. The dish is not unlike the famous mushy peas, also much loved in the North and made with dried marrowfat peas—though you would never fry mushy peas, as they are too soft and do not hold their shape.

Pease pudding is also known locally as pease pottage or pease porridge. This recipe comes from celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's Gammon with Pease Pudding and Parsley Sauce.

Easy British pease pudding in white bowls

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"The Easy Pease Pudding was an easy preparation and came out nice and thick. The malt vinegar, butter, and seasonings delivered excellent flavor. I soaked the peas overnight, and they were done cooking within an hour, and I kept them on very low heat until most of the liquid had evaporated. They were perfect." —Diana Rattray

Easy British pease pudding in a white bowl
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 7 ounces (200 grams) yellow split peas, soaked overnight in cold water

  • 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered

  • 1 carrot, peeled and quartered

  • 2 bay leaves

  • 2 tablespoons malt vinegar

  • Sea salt, to taste

  • Ground white pepper, to taste

  • 1 1/4 tablespoons (20 grams) butter, cut into chunks

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for English pease pudding gathered

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  2. Drain the soaked yellow peas and pour them in a saucepan.

    Yellow peas soaked in water

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  3. Add the onion, carrot, and bay leaves, and cover with cold water. Bring the peas to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat and simmer gently for an hour or until the peas are tender. Occasionally skim off any scum that rises to the surface.

    Yellow peas, onion, carrot, and bay leaves in a pot covered with cold water.

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  4. Remove the onion, carrot, and bay leaves from the pan and add the peas to a blender. (You can also keep the peas in the current pot/pan and use an immersion blender.) Blend to a thick puree, but do not over mix as the peas do not need to be smooth.

    Onion, carrot, and bay leaves removed from the pot

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  5. Pour the peas into a clean pan. Add the malt vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Gradually beat in the butter a cube at a time. Keep the pease pudding warm until ready to serve. The pudding will thicken as it cools and thins again when hot. If the pudding becomes dry, add boiling water a little at a time, taking care to not make the pease too thin.  Serve with a thick slice of cooked ham or a gammon steak and ​parsley sauce. 

    Malt vinegar added to pureed yellow peas

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Use Caution When Blending Hot Ingredients

Steam expands quickly in a blender, and can cause ingredients to splatter everywhere or cause burns. To prevent this, fill the blender only one-third of the way up, vent the top, and cover with a folded kitchen towel while blending.

Tips

  • The peas are done when soft and most of the water has evaporated. Watch the peas carefully near the end of the cooking time and stir to prevent sticking.
  • Skewering the onion quarters with a few toothpicks will make them easier to remove when the peas are done.
  • To cook the peas, start with about 3 1/2 to 4 cups of water, or a depth of about 1 inch above the peas. If the water evaporates before the peas are done, add more in small amounts.


How to Store Pease Pudding

  • Refrigerate pease pudding in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
  • To freeze, transfer the pudding to an airtight container or zip-close bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

Recipe Variations

  • Cook the peas with a leftover ham bone or smoked ham hock.
  • Add a clove of garlic to the peas.
  • Remove only the bay leaves and carrot. Process or mash the cooked peas and onion together along with the malt vinegar, butter, and seasonings.


Pease Pudding Nursery Rhyme

In case you are in any doubt about the popularity of pease pudding, the traditional dish even has its own nursery rhyme.

"Pease pudding hot!
Pease pudding cold!
Pease pudding in the pot
Nine days old."



Nutrition Facts (per serving)
172 Calories
9g Fat
20g Carbs
4g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 172
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 9g 11%
Saturated Fat 3g 16%
Cholesterol 11mg 4%
Sodium 304mg 13%
Total Carbohydrate 20g 7%
Dietary Fiber 4g 14%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 4mg 21%
Calcium 33mg 3%
Iron 2mg 9%
Potassium 280mg 6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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