Black and White Pudding with an Oriental Touch

Black and White Pudding with an Oriental Touch

Last week we told you about the spiced up cheddar by Leah’s Gourment Foods. This week the focus is on their Black and White Puddings.

Leah has married into the Sweeney family in Kerry and they have a long tradition in food, in cheese, butter and smoked salmon.  Leah's husband is Billy and his grandmother Nell produced her own special recipe black pudding which was sold throughout the local area, and indeed Billy's grandparents on his mother's side, the O'Briens from Ballyduff, were quite renowned locally for their black pudding recipes which were handed down.

And there is also a strong black pudding connection on Leah’s side. Black pudding is a delicacy in her native Philippines. Throughout the years, Leah often made her black pudding recipe to be enjoyed by family and friends, and she was often encouraged to make it commercially. That came about a few years back. The solid base was provided by her own heritage and Billy’s family recipes. And now they have  a blend of the finest of both Filipino and Irish traditions.

I've been sampling the black pudding (and white) in recent days. The Kerry tradition has been given a spicy twist through the addition of fresh chillies, fresh ginger and fresh garlic to the blend. And it is amazingly successful. The spices are not at all overpowering; in fact they are quite moderate but their inclusion fundamentally enhances the pudding which, full of attractive flavours, is a delight on the palate, at breakfast or indeed at other other time. Besides, it doesn’t have the very salty taste of some other puddings.

Leah helpfully includes a few Black Pudding recipes on their website. She doesn’t include the Dinuguan (a very popular black pudding dish from her homeland) but she does include one for Black Pudding Scotch Eggs and that’s the one we tried.

The recipe is easy to follow and you’ll have no bother getting the ingredients. Besides, it may be made in advance. Have to say, we enjoyed it very much indeed indeed

Leah’s are included in the recently published Kerry Food Story and their products are available online and in the following places:

·         Cahill’s SuperValu, Ballybunion

·         Garvey’s SuperValu, Castleisland

·         Garvey’s SuperValu, Dingle

·         Garvey’s SuperValu, Listowel

·         Garvey’s SuperValu, Tralee

·         Lynch’s SPAR, Castlegregory

·         Cliff House Hotel, Ballybunion

·         Dingle Skellig Hotel, Dingle

·         Listowel Arms Hotel, Listowel

See last week's article on Leah's Cheddar here.

East Meets West

East Meets West.
And spices up the cheddar!
Part 1

 

East meets West in Kerry and the results are good, very good. From a mountain village in the Philippines to a coastal village in North Kerry comes Leah. She met husband Billy in London and together in Littor Strand they’ve put their respective food experiences and traditions in the mix and now you can sample some very interesting products indeed.

Billy’s  grandfather William T. Sweeney founded Shannon Vale Creamery in the 1900’s; his father, Rory (Bill), was the General Manager of Cadbury’s Chocolate Factory in Rathmore, Co. Kerry before taking over as General Manager of Rattoo Creamery.  

So dairying and cheese was very much part of Billy’s background and it is not so surprising that cheese is one of the products now produced by Leah’s Gourmet Foods. But cheese with a twist, as Leah has added a touch from the Phillipines, a spicy one!

Leah’s Gourmet Cheese sees the traditional Irish Farm Cheddar get an “injection” of red chillies, garlic and ginger. The initial attack could take you by surprise but you do get used to it quickly.

Many of us Irish look for a cool way to counter the heat of the spices and I’ve got one. Had tried a few relishes, including a Mango (a pretty good match). But the best pairing I came across was with a beautiful jar of red currant jelly made by Toni’s Homemade and bought at Bandon Market. A perfect match between Cork and Kerry.

Next time, we’ll tell you all about Leah’s Black and White puddings. They also do other products including Irish organic smoked salmon and a lovely line of boards and slates.

Just seen that Leah’s Gourmet Foods have been chosen as an "InterTradeIreland Business Ambassador" and have been invited to The Mansion House & Áras an Uachtaráin to meet President Michael D. Higgins, Minister Richard Bruton along with many other TDs & senators, VIPs and leaders of the business community in Ireland.

“We're so looking forward to this event at the beginning of October and so we'll have to dust down the tuxedo's and fancy gowns to get ourselves ready to meet with the great and the good of Ireland's business world!”

Part 2 next week!